Game controller

ABSTRACT

An example game controller includes a spherical housing, a joystick, an operation button, a vibrator, and an antenna. The housing includes a first hemispherical portion and a second hemispherical portion. The joystick is on a boundary between the first hemispherical portion and the second hemispherical portion. The vibrator is inside the second hemispherical portion and configured to generate a vibration to vibrate the housing. The antenna is inside the first hemispherical portion, the antenna configured to transmit, to outside, information regarding an operation on the joystick and information regarding an operation of the operation button.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2018-101076,2018-101077, 2018-101078 and 2018-101079, filed on May 25, 2018, isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present technique relates to a game controller.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

There are conventional spherical controllers.

There has been room for improvement in the arrangement of components ina spherical controller.

Therefore, the present application discloses a spherical controller inwhich components are desirably arranged.

(1)

An example of a game controller described herein includes a sphericalhousing, a joystick, an operation button, a vibrator, and an antenna.The spherical housing includes a first hemispherical portion and asecond hemispherical portion. The joystick is positioned at a boundarybetween the first hemispherical portion and the second hemisphericalportion. The operation button has an operation surface at a zenithportion of the first hemispherical portion. The vibrator is inside thesecond hemispherical portion and configured to generate a vibration tovibrate the spherical housing. The antenna is inside the firsthemispherical portion, the antenna configured to transmit, to outside,information regarding an operation on the joystick and informationregarding an operation on the operation button.

With configuration (1) above, the joystick and the operation button canbe arranged at such positions that it is easy for the user to operatethe joystick and the operation button. With configuration (1) above, thegame controller can output a vibration from the vibrator. Withconfiguration (1) above, the antenna can be provided at an appropriateposition.

(2)

The antenna may be on a side of the joystick with respect to a center ofthe spherical housing.

(3)

The game controller may further include a first electronic substrate.The first electronic substrate has the antenna and a contact. Thecontact is configured to detect an operation on an operation surface andthe antenna.

(4)

The game controller may further include a processor and a secondelectronic substrate. The processor is configured to cause the antennato transmit, to outside, information regarding an operation on thejoystick and information regarding an operation on the operation button.The second electronic substrate is an electronic substrate that carriesthereon the processor, wherein the second electronic substrate isdifferent from the first electronic substrate.

(5)

The spherical housing may include a first hemispherical housingcorresponding to the first hemispherical portion, and a secondhemispherical housing corresponding to the second hemispherical portion.

With configuration (5) above, the game controller can allow the user torecognize the orientation of the game controller based on the positionalrelationship between the two hemispherical housings.

(6)

The spherical housing may further include a spherical zone-shapedhousing having a spherical zone shape between the first hemisphericalhousing and the second hemispherical housing.

With configuration (6) above, the game controller can allow the user torecognize the orientation of the game controller based on the positionalrelationship between the two hemispherical housings and the sphericalzone-shaped housing.

(7)

The spherical zone-shaped housing may be ring-shaped.

(8)

The joystick may be on the spherical zone-shaped housing.

With configuration (8) above, the user can easily recognize appropriateinput directions on the joystick based on the positional relationshipbetween the two hemispherical housings and the spherical zone-shapedhousing.

(9)

The spherical zone-shaped housing may include an annular portionsurrounding a circumference of the joystick.

(10)

The spherical zone-shaped housing may include a first band-shapedportion extending from the annular portion toward a right inputdirection of the joystick, and a second band-shaped portion extendingfrom the annular portion toward a left input direction of the joystick.

With configuration (10) above, the user can easily recognize appropriateinput directions on the joystick based on the positional relationshipbetween the joystick and the band-shaped portion.

(11)

The operation surface may be integral with a surface of the sphericalhousing.

(12)

A center of gravity of the game controller may be located inside thesecond hemispherical portion.

With configuration (12) above, when the game controller is placed on ahorizontal surface with no external force applied thereto, it isunlikely that the side where the operation button is provided facesdown.

(13)

The game controller may further include an inertia sensor. The inertiasensor is at a position inside the spherical housing such that adistance from a center of the spherical housing to the inertia sensor isshorter than a distance from the center to the vibrator.

With configuration (13) above, it is possible to improve the sensingaccuracy of the inertia sensor.

(14)

The antenna may transmit, to outside, output information from theinertia sensor.

(15)

The game controller may further include a rechargeable battery insidethe spherical housing. The rechargeable battery is at a position suchthat a distance from a center of the spherical housing to therechargeable battery is shorter than a distance from the center ofspherical housing to the vibrator.

With configuration (15) above, it is possible to safely protect therechargeable battery.

(16)

The operation button may include a movable portion configured to move inresponse to the operation surface being depressed. The movable portionmay be capable of pivoting about a rotation shaft. The game controllermay further include a detection section configured to detect anoperation on the operation surface in response to the pivoting of themovable portion.

With configuration (16) above, it is made easier for the detectionsection to detect a depressing operation, irrespective of the positionat which the operation surface is depressed. Thus, it is possible toreduce the possibility that an operation on the operation surface failsto be detected.

(17)

The rotation shaft may be substantially perpendicular to a straight linethat connects together a center of the spherical housing and a center ofthe operation surface of the operation button.

With configuration (17) above, it is possible to reduce the possibilitythat an operation on the operation surface fails to be detected.

(18)

The antenna is capable of receiving, from outside, a signal forvibrating the vibrator. The vibrator vibrates based on the signalreceived by the antenna.

With configuration (18) above, the game controller can vibrate based ona signal from outside.

(19)

The vibrator may include a voice coil motor capable of generating asound as well as vibrating in response to an input signal.

With configuration (19) above, the game controller can output a sound aswell as outputting a vibration.

(20)

An indication that indicates a position of the operation surface may beon at least one of the spherical housing and the operation surface.

With configuration (20) above, the user can easily recognize which partof the surface of the spherical housing is the operation surface.

(21)

The game controller may further include a rechargeable battery and aterminal. The rechargeable battery is inside the spherical housing. Theterminal is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery and is ata position recessed from a surface of the spherical housing.

With configuration (21) above, since the terminal is at a positionrecessed from the spherical surface of the spherical housing, it ispossible to reduce the possibility that the terminal comes into contactwith the surface on which the game controller is placed.

(22)

The vibrator may have a cylindrical outer shape.

With configuration (22) above, it is possible to efficiently use thespace inside the spherical housing.

(23)

The game controller may further include a reboot button used to rebootthe game controller. An operation surface of the reboot button may berecessed from a surface of the spherical housing.

With configuration (23) above, it is possible to reduce the possibilitythat the reboot button is operated inadvertently.

Note that disclosed herein is an example of an information processingsystem including any of the game controllers set forth in (1) to (23)above, and an information processing apparatus capable of communicatingwith the game controller.

With such game controllers, it is possible to desirably arrangecomponents in a spherical controller.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a state where a non-limitingleft controller and a non-limiting right controller are attached to anon-limiting main body apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a state where a non-limitingleft controller and a non-limiting right controller are detached from anon-limiting main body apparatus;

FIG. 3 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of a non-limitingmain body apparatus;

FIG. 4 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of a non-limitingleft controller;

FIG. 5 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of a non-limitingright controller;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the non-limiting main body apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the non-limiting main body apparatus, the non-limitingleft controller and the non-limiting right controller;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a non-limitingspherical controller;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a non-limitingspherical controller;

FIG. 10 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of a non-limitingcontroller main body;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a non-limiting housing;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of how a non-limiting controllermain body is held by a user;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a positional relationshipbetween a non-limiting joystick and a non-limiting operation surface;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a positional relationshipbetween a non-limiting joystick and a non-limiting operation surface;

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingupper unit;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingupper unit;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a non-limiting upperunit;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a non-limiting upperunit with a non-limiting operation surface depressed;

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingmiddle unit;

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingmiddle unit;

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a non-limiting middleunit;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing an example of a positionalrelationship between a non-limiting middle housing part, a lightguideand a main substrate;

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitinglower unit;

FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingupper unit and an example of a non-limiting middle unit;

FIG. 25 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingcontroller main body;

FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a non-limitingcontroller main body;

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a non-limitingcontroller main body;

FIG. 28 is a diagram schematically showing the vicinity of a front endportion of an example of a non-limiting spherical controller;

FIG. 29 is a back view of an example of a non-limiting controller mainbody with a cover portion removed;

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of how a non-limiting controllermain body emits light;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing an example of a non-limitinglightguide;

FIG. 32 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of a non-limitinglightguide;

FIG. 33 is a diagram schematically showing an example of how lightpasses through a non-limiting left extended portion;

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a reverse surface of anon-limiting surrounding portion;

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of across section of a non-limiting surrounding portion;

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of an arrangement oflight-emitting elements in a non-limiting light-emitting section; and

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing an example of electric connections ofa non-limiting spherical controller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[1. Game System in which Spherical Controller is Used]

Before describing a spherical controller according to an exemplaryembodiment, a game system in which the spherical controller is used willbe described first. An example of a game system 1 according to theexemplary embodiment includes a main body apparatus (an informationprocessing apparatus; which functions as a game apparatus main body inthe exemplary embodiment) 2, a left controller 3, and a right controller4. Each of the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 isattachable to and detachable from the main body apparatus 2. That is,the game system 1 can be used as a unified apparatus obtained byattaching each of the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 tothe main body apparatus 2. Further, in the game system 1, the main bodyapparatus 2, the left controller 3, and the right controller 4 can alsobe used as separate bodies (see FIG. 2). Hereinafter, first, thehardware configuration of the game system 1 according to the exemplaryembodiment is described, and then, the control of the game system 1according to the exemplary embodiment is described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the state where the leftcontroller 3 and the right controller 4 are attached to the main bodyapparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the left controller 3 and theright controller 4 is attached to and unified with the main bodyapparatus 2. The main body apparatus 2 is an apparatus for performingvarious processes (e.g., game processing) in the game system 1. The mainbody apparatus 2 includes a display 12. Each of the left controller 3and the right controller 4 is an apparatus including operation sectionswith which a user provides inputs.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the state where each of theleft controller 3 and the right controller 4 is detached from the mainbody apparatus 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left controller 3 andthe right controller 4 are attachable to and detachable from the mainbody apparatus 2. It should be noted that hereinafter, the leftcontroller 3 and the right controller 4 will occasionally be referred tocollectively as a “controller”.

FIG. 3 is six orthogonal views showing an example of the main bodyapparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the main body apparatus 2 includes anapproximately plate-shaped housing 11. In the exemplary embodiment, amain surface (in other words, a surface on a front side, i.e., a surfaceon which the display 12 is provided) of the housing 11 has a generallyrectangular shape.

It should be noted that the shape and the size of the housing 11 areoptional. As an example, the housing 11 may be of a portable size.Further, the main body apparatus 2 alone or the unified apparatusobtained by attaching the left controller 3 and the right controller 4to the main body apparatus 2 may function as a mobile apparatus. Themain body apparatus 2 or the unified apparatus may function as ahandheld apparatus or a portable apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body apparatus 2 includes the display 12,which is provided on the main surface of the housing 11. The display 12displays an image generated by the main body apparatus 2. In theexemplary embodiment, the display 12 is a liquid crystal display device(LCD). The display 12, however, may be a display device of any type.

Further, the main body apparatus 2 includes a touch panel 13 on a screenof the display 12. In the exemplary embodiment, the touch panel 13 is ofa type that allows a multi-touch input (e.g., a capacitive type). Thetouch panel 13, however, may be of any type. For example, the touchpanel 13 may be of a type that allows a single-touch input (e.g., aresistive type).

The main body apparatus 2 includes speakers (i.e., speakers 88 shown inFIG. 6) within the housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3, speaker holes 11 aand 11 b are formed on the main surface of the housing 11. Then, soundsoutput from the speakers 88 are output through the speaker holes 11 aand 11 b.

Further, the main body apparatus 2 includes a left terminal 17, which isa terminal for the main body apparatus 2 to perform wired communicationwith the left controller 3, and a right terminal 21, which is a terminalfor the main body apparatus 2 to perform wired communication with theright controller 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body apparatus 2 includes a slot 23. Theslot 23 is provided on an upper side surface of the housing 11. The slot23 is so shaped as to allow a predetermined type of storage medium to beattached to the slot 23. The predetermined type of storage medium is,for example, a dedicated storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card)for the game system 1 and an information processing apparatus of thesame type as the game system 1. The predetermined type of storage mediumis used to store, for example, data (e.g., saved data of an applicationor the like) used by the main body apparatus 2 and/or a program (e.g., aprogram for an application or the like) executed by the main bodyapparatus 2. Further, the main body apparatus 2 includes a power button28.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a lower terminal 27. The lowerterminal 27 is a terminal for the main body apparatus 2 to communicatewith a cradle. In the exemplary embodiment, the lower terminal 27 is aUSB connector (more specifically, a female connector). Further, when theunified apparatus or the main body apparatus 2 alone is mounted on thecradle, the game system 1 can display on a stationary monitor an imagegenerated by and output from the main body apparatus 2. Further, in theexemplary embodiment, the cradle has the function of charging theunified apparatus or the main body apparatus 2 alone mounted on thecradle. Further, the cradle has the function of a hub device(specifically, a USB hub).

FIG. 4 is six orthogonal views showing an example of the left controller3. As shown in FIG. 4, the left controller 3 includes a housing 31. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the housing 31 has a vertically long shape,i.e., is shaped to be long in an up-down direction (i.e., a y-axisdirection shown in FIGS. 1 and 4). In the state where the leftcontroller 3 is detached from the main body apparatus 2, the leftcontroller 3 can also be held in the orientation in which the leftcontroller 3 is vertically long. The housing 31 has such a shape and asize that when held in the orientation in which the housing 31 isvertically long, the housing 31 can be held with one hand, particularlythe left hand. Further, the left controller 3 can also be held in theorientation in which the left controller 3 is horizontally long. Whenheld in the orientation in which the left controller 3 is horizontallylong, the left controller 3 may be held with both hands.

The left controller 3 includes an analog stick 32. As shown in FIG. 4,the analog stick 32 is provided on a main surface of the housing 31. Theanalog stick 32 can be used as a direction input section with which adirection can be input. The user tilts the analog stick 32 and therebycan input a direction corresponding to the direction of the tilt (andinput a magnitude corresponding to the angle of the tilt). It should benoted that the left controller 3 may include a directional pad, a slidestick that allows a slide input, or the like as the direction inputsection, instead of the analog stick. Further, in the exemplaryembodiment, it is possible to provide an input by pressing the analogstick 32.

The left controller 3 includes various operation buttons. The leftcontroller 3 includes four operation buttons 33 to 36 (specifically, aright direction button 33, a down direction button 34, an up directionbutton 35, and a left direction button 36) on the main surface of thehousing 31. Further, the left controller 3 includes a record button 37and a “−” (minus) button 47. The left controller 3 includes a firstL-button 38 and a ZL-button 39 in an upper left portion of a sidesurface of the housing 31. Further, the left controller 3 includes asecond L-button 43 and a second R-button 44, on the side surface of thehousing 31 on which the left controller 3 is attached to the main bodyapparatus 2. These operation buttons are used to give instructionsdepending on various programs (e.g., an OS program and an applicationprogram) executed by the main body apparatus 2.

Further, the left controller 3 includes a terminal 42 for the leftcontroller 3 to perform wired communication with the main body apparatus2.

FIG. 5 is six orthogonal views showing an example of the rightcontroller 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the right controller 4 includes ahousing 51. In the exemplary embodiment, the housing 51 has a verticallylong shape, i.e., is shaped to be long in the up-down direction. In thestate where the right controller 4 is detached from the main bodyapparatus 2, the right controller 4 can also be held in the orientationin which the right controller 4 is vertically long. The housing 51 hassuch a shape and a size that when held in the orientation in which thehousing 51 is vertically long, the housing 51 can be held with one hand,particularly the right hand. Further, the right controller 4 can also beheld in the orientation in which the right controller 4 is horizontallylong. When held in the orientation in which the right controller 4 ishorizontally long, the right controller 4 may be held with both hands.

Similarly to the left controller 3, the right controller 4 includes ananalog stick 52 as a direction input section. In the exemplaryembodiment, the analog stick 52 has the same configuration as that ofthe analog stick 32 of the left controller 3. Further, the rightcontroller 4 may include a directional pad, a slide stick that allows aslide input, or the like, instead of the analog stick. Further,similarly to the left controller 3, the right controller 4 includes fouroperation buttons 53 to 56 (specifically, an A-button 53, a B-button 54,an X-button 55, and a Y-button 56) on a main surface of the housing 51.Further, the right controller 4 includes a “+” (plus) button 57 and ahome button 58. Further, the right controller 4 includes a firstR-button 60 and a ZR-button 61 in an upper right portion of a sidesurface of the housing 51. Further, similarly to the left controller 3,the right controller 4 includes a second L-button 65 and a secondR-button 66.

Further, a window portion 68 is provided on a lower side surface of thehousing 51. Although the details will be described later, the rightcontroller 4 includes an infrared image capturing section 123 and aninfrared light-emitting section 124, which are placed within the housing51. The infrared image capturing section 123 captures a portion aroundthe right controller 4 through the window portion 68 such that a downdirection of the right controller 4 (a negative y-axis direction shownin FIG. 5) is the image capturing direction. The infrared light-emittingsection 124 emits infrared light through the window portion 68 to animage capturing target to be captured by the infrared image capturingsection 123 such that a predetermined range about the down direction ofthe right controller 4 (the negative y-axis direction shown in FIG. 5)is the emission range. The window portion 68 is used to protect a lensof a camera of the infrared image capturing section 123, a light emitterof the infrared light-emitting section 124, and the like and composed ofa material (e.g., a transparent material) that transmits light of awavelength sensed by the camera and light emitted from the lightemitter. It should be noted that the window portion 68 may be a holeformed in the housing 51. It should be noted that in the exemplaryembodiment, the infrared image capturing section 123 itself includes afilter member for inhibiting the transmission of light of a wavelengthother than light sensed by the camera (infrared light in the exemplaryembodiment). In another exemplary embodiment, the window portion 68 mayhave the function of a filter.

Further, although the details will be described later, the rightcontroller 4 includes an NFC communication section 122. The NFCcommunication section 122 performs short-range wireless communicationbased on the NFC (Near Field Communication) standard. The NFCcommunication section 122 includes an antenna 122 a, which is used forshort-range wireless communication, and a circuit (e.g., an NFC chip)for generating a signal (a radio wave) to be sent from the antenna 122a. It should be noted that the NFC communication section 122 may performshort-range wireless communication through any proximity communication(or contactless communication), instead of performing short-rangewireless communication based on the NFC standard. Here, the NFC standardcan be used for proximity communication (contactless communication), and“may perform short-range wireless communication through any proximitycommunication (or contactless communication)” is intended to mean thatshort-range wireless communication may be performed through otherproximity communication except for proximity communication based on theNFC standard.

Further, the right controller 4 includes a terminal 64 for the rightcontroller 4 to perform wired communication with the main body apparatus2.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the internalconfiguration of the main body apparatus 2. The main body apparatus 2includes components 81 to 91, 97, and 98 shown in FIG. 6 in addition tothe components shown in FIG. 3. Some of the components 81 to 91, 97, and98 may be mounted as electronic components on an electronic circuitboard and accommodated in the housing 11.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a processor 81. The processor 81 isan information processing section for executing various types ofinformation processing to be executed by the main body apparatus 2. Forexample, the processor 81 may be composed only of a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit), or may be composed of a SoC (System-on-a-chip) havinga plurality of functions such as a CPU function and a GPU (GraphicsProcessing Unit) function. The processor 81 executes an informationprocessing program (e.g., a game program) stored in a storage section(specifically, an internal storage medium such as a flash memory 84, anexternal storage medium attached to the slot 23, or the like), therebyperforming the various types of information processing.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a flash memory 84 and a DRAM (DynamicRandom Access Memory) 85 as examples of internal storage media builtinto the main body apparatus 2. The flash memory 84 and the DRAM 85 areconnected to the processor 81. The flash memory 84 is a memory mainlyused to store various data (or programs) to be saved in the main bodyapparatus 2. The DRAM 85 is a memory used to temporarily store variousdata used for information processing.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a slot interface (hereinafterabbreviated as “I/F”) 91. The slot I/F 91 is connected to the processor81. The slot I/F 91 is connected to the slot 23, and in accordance withan instruction from the processor 81, reads and writes data from and tothe predetermined type of storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card)attached to the slot 23.

The processor 81 appropriately reads and writes data from and to theflash memory 84, the DRAM 85, and each of the above storage media,thereby performing the above information processing.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a network communication section 82.The network communication section 82 is connected to the processor 81.The network communication section 82 communicates (specifically, throughwireless communication) with an external apparatus via a network. In theexemplary embodiment, as a first communication form, the networkcommunication section 82 connects to a wireless LAN and communicateswith an external apparatus, using a method compliant with the Wi-Fistandard. Further, as a second communication form, the networkcommunication section 82 wirelessly communicates with another main bodyapparatus 2 of the same type, using a predetermined communication method(e.g., communication based on a unique protocol or infrared lightcommunication). It should be noted that the wireless communication inthe above second communication form achieves the function of enablingso-called “local communication” in which the main body apparatus 2 canwirelessly communicate with another main body apparatus 2 placed in aclosed local network area, and the plurality of main body apparatuses 2directly communicate with each other to transmit and receive data.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a controller communication section83. The controller communication section 83 is connected to theprocessor 81. The controller communication section 83 wirelesslycommunicates with the left controller 3 and/or the right controller 4.The communication method between the main body apparatus 2 and the leftcontroller 3 and the right controller 4 is optional. In the exemplaryembodiment, the controller communication section 83 performscommunication compliant with the Bluetooth (registered trademark)standard with the left controller 3 and with the right controller 4.

The processor 81 is connected to the left terminal 17, the rightterminal 21, and the lower terminal 27. When performing wiredcommunication with the left controller 3, the processor 81 transmitsdata to the left controller 3 via the left terminal 17 and also receivesoperation data from the left controller 3 via the left terminal 17.Further, when performing wired communication with the right controller4, the processor 81 transmits data to the right controller 4 via theright terminal 21 and also receives operation data from the rightcontroller 4 via the right terminal 21. Further, when communicating withthe cradle, the processor 81 transmits data to the cradle via the lowerterminal 27. As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the mainbody apparatus 2 can perform both wired communication and wirelesscommunication with each of the left controller 3 and the rightcontroller 4. Further, when the unified apparatus obtained by attachingthe left controller 3 and the right controller 4 to the main bodyapparatus 2 or the main body apparatus 2 alone is attached to thecradle, the main body apparatus 2 can output data (e.g., image data orsound data) to the stationary monitor or the like via the cradle.

Here, the main body apparatus 2 can communicate with a plurality of leftcontrollers 3 simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Further, themain body apparatus 2 can communicate with a plurality of rightcontrollers 4 simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Thus, aplurality of users can simultaneously provide inputs to the main bodyapparatus 2, each using a set of the left controller 3 and the rightcontroller 4. As an example, a first user can provide an input to themain body apparatus 2 using a first set of the left controller 3 and theright controller 4, and simultaneously, a second user can provide aninput to the main body apparatus 2 using a second set of the leftcontroller 3 and the right controller 4.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a touch panel controller 86, which isa circuit for controlling the touch panel 13. The touch panel controller86 is connected between the touch panel 13 and the processor 81. Basedon a signal from the touch panel 13, the touch panel controller 86generates, for example, data indicating the position where a touch inputis provided. Then, the touch panel controller 86 outputs the data to theprocessor 81.

Further, the display 12 is connected to the processor 81. The processor81 displays a generated image (e.g., an image generated by executing theabove information processing) and/or an externally acquired image on thedisplay 12.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a codec circuit 87 and speakers(specifically, a left speaker and a right speaker) 88. The codec circuit87 is connected to the speakers 88 and a sound input/output terminal 25and also connected to the processor 81. The codec circuit 87 is acircuit for controlling the input and output of sound data to and fromthe speakers 88 and the sound input/output terminal 25.

Further, the main body apparatus 2 includes an acceleration sensor 89.In the exemplary embodiment, the acceleration sensor 89 detects themagnitudes of accelerations along predetermined three axial (e.g., xyzaxes shown in FIG. 1) directions. It should be noted that theacceleration sensor 89 may detect an acceleration along one axialdirection or accelerations along two axial directions.

Further, the main body apparatus 2 includes an angular velocity sensor90. In the exemplary embodiment, the angular velocity sensor 90 detectsangular velocities about predetermined three axes (e.g., the xyz axesshown in FIG. 1). It should be noted that the angular velocity sensor 90may detect an angular velocity about one axis or angular velocitiesabout two axes.

The acceleration sensor 89 and the angular velocity sensor 90 areconnected to the processor 81, and the detection results of theacceleration sensor 89 and the angular velocity sensor 90 are output tothe processor 81. Based on the detection results of the accelerationsensor 89 and the angular velocity sensor 90, the processor 81 cancalculate information regarding the motion and/or the orientation of themain body apparatus 2.

The main body apparatus 2 includes a power control section 97 and abattery 98. The power control section 97 is connected to the battery 98and the processor 81. Further, although not shown in FIG. 6, the powercontrol section 97 is connected to components of the main body apparatus2 (specifically, components that receive power supplied from the battery98, the left terminal 17, and the right terminal 21). Based on a commandfrom the processor 81, the power control section 97 controls the supplyof power from the battery 98 to the above components.

Further, the battery 98 is connected to the lower terminal 27. When anexternal charging device (e.g., the cradle) is connected to the lowerterminal 27, and power is supplied to the main body apparatus 2 via thelower terminal 27, the battery 98 is charged with the supplied power.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing examples of the internalconfigurations of the main body apparatus 2, the left controller 3, andthe right controller 4. It should be noted that the details of theinternal configuration of the main body apparatus 2 are shown in FIG. 6and therefore are omitted in FIG. 7.

The left controller 3 includes a communication control section 101,which communicates with the main body apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 7,the communication control section 101 is connected to componentsincluding the terminal 42. In the exemplary embodiment, thecommunication control section 101 can communicate with the main bodyapparatus 2 through both wired communication via the terminal 42 andwireless communication not via the terminal 42. The communicationcontrol section 101 controls the method for communication performed bythe left controller 3 with the main body apparatus 2. That is, when theleft controller 3 is attached to the main body apparatus 2, thecommunication control section 101 communicates with the main bodyapparatus 2 via the terminal 42. Further, when the left controller 3 isdetached from the main body apparatus 2, the communication controlsection 101 wirelessly communicates with the main body apparatus 2(specifically, the controller communication section 83). The wirelesscommunication between the communication control section 101 and thecontroller communication section 83 is performed in accordance with theBluetooth (registered trademark) standard, for example.

Further, the left controller 3 includes a memory 102 such as a flashmemory. The communication control section 101 includes, for example, amicrocomputer (or a microprocessor) and executes firmware stored in thememory 102, thereby performing various processes.

The left controller 3 includes buttons 103 (specifically, the buttons 33to 39, 43, 44, and 47). Further, the left controller 3 includes theanalog stick (“stick” in FIG. 7) 32. Each of the buttons 103 and theanalog stick 32 outputs information regarding an operation performed onitself to the communication control section 101 repeatedly atappropriate timing.

The left controller 3 includes inertial sensors. Specifically, the leftcontroller 3 includes an acceleration sensor 104. Further, the leftcontroller 3 includes an angular velocity sensor 105. In the exemplaryembodiment, the acceleration sensor 104 detects the magnitudes ofaccelerations along predetermined three axial (e.g., xyz axes shown inFIG. 4) directions. It should be noted that the acceleration sensor 104may detect an acceleration along one axial direction or accelerationsalong two axial directions. In the exemplary embodiment, the angularvelocity sensor 105 detects angular velocities about predetermined threeaxes (e.g., the xyz axes shown in FIG. 4). It should be noted that theangular velocity sensor 105 may detect an angular velocity about oneaxis or angular velocities about two axes. Each of the accelerationsensor 104 and the angular velocity sensor 105 is connected to thecommunication control section 101. Then, the detection results of theacceleration sensor 104 and the angular velocity sensor 105 are outputto the communication control section 101 repeatedly at appropriatetiming.

The communication control section 101 acquires information regarding aninput (specifically, information regarding an operation or the detectionresult of the sensor) from each of input sections (specifically, thebuttons 103, the analog stick 32, and the sensors 104 and 105). Thecommunication control section 101 transmits operation data including theacquired information (or information obtained by performingpredetermined processing on the acquired information) to the main bodyapparatus 2. It should be noted that the operation data is transmittedrepeatedly, once every predetermined time. It should be noted that theinterval at which the information regarding an input is transmitted fromeach of the input sections to the main body apparatus 2 may or may notbe the same.

The above operation data is transmitted to the main body apparatus 2,whereby the main body apparatus 2 can obtain inputs provided to the leftcontroller 3. That is, the main body apparatus 2 can determineoperations on the buttons 103 and the analog stick 32 based on theoperation data. Further, the main body apparatus 2 can calculateinformation regarding the motion and/or the orientation of the leftcontroller 3 based on the operation data (specifically, the detectionresults of the acceleration sensor 104 and the angular velocity sensor105).

The left controller 3 includes a vibrator 107 for giving notification tothe user by a vibration. In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrator 107is controlled by a command from the main body apparatus 2. That is, ifreceiving the above command from the main body apparatus 2, thecommunication control section 101 drives the vibrator 107 in accordancewith the received command. Here, the left controller 3 includes a codecsection 106. If receiving the above command, the communication controlsection 101 outputs a control signal corresponding to the command to thecodec section 106. The codec section 106 generates a driving signal fordriving the vibrator 107 from the control signal from the communicationcontrol section 101 and outputs the driving signal to the vibrator 107.Consequently, the vibrator 107 operates.

More specifically, the vibrator 107 is a linear vibration motor. Unlikea regular motor that rotationally moves, the linear vibration motor isdriven in a predetermined direction in accordance with an input voltageand therefore can be vibrated at an amplitude and a frequencycorresponding to the waveform of the input voltage. In the exemplaryembodiment, a vibration control signal transmitted from the main bodyapparatus 2 to the left controller 3 may be a digital signalrepresenting the frequency and the amplitude every unit of time. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the main body apparatus 2 may transmitinformation indicating the waveform itself. The transmission of only theamplitude and the frequency, however, enables a reduction in the amountof communication data. Additionally, to further reduce the amount ofdata, only the differences between the numerical values of the amplitudeand the frequency at that time and the previous values may betransmitted, instead of the numerical values. In this case, the codecsection 106 converts a digital signal indicating the values of theamplitude and the frequency acquired from the communication controlsection 101 into the waveform of an analog voltage and inputs a voltagein accordance with the resulting waveform, thereby driving the vibrator107. Thus, the main body apparatus 2 changes the amplitude and thefrequency to be transmitted every unit of time and thereby can controlthe amplitude and the frequency at which the vibrator 107 is to bevibrated at that time. It should be noted that not only a singleamplitude and a single frequency, but also two or more amplitudes andtwo or more frequencies may be transmitted from the main body apparatus2 to the left controller 3. In this case, the codec section 106 combineswaveforms indicated by the plurality of received amplitudes andfrequencies and thereby can generate the waveform of a voltage forcontrolling the vibrator 107.

The left controller 3 includes a power supply section 108. In theexemplary embodiment, the power supply section 108 includes a batteryand a power control circuit. Although not shown in FIG. 7, the powercontrol circuit is connected to the battery and also connected tocomponents of the left controller 3 (specifically, components thatreceive power supplied from the battery).

As shown in FIG. 7, the right controller 4 includes a communicationcontrol section 111, which communicates with the main body apparatus 2.Further, the right controller 4 includes a memory 112, which isconnected to the communication control section 111. The communicationcontrol section 111 is connected to components including the terminal64. The communication control section 111 and the memory 112 havefunctions similar to those of the communication control section 101 andthe memory 102, respectively, of the left controller 3. Thus, thecommunication control section 111 can communicate with the main bodyapparatus 2 through both wired communication via the terminal 64 andwireless communication not via the terminal 64 (specifically,communication compliant with the Bluetooth (registered trademark)standard). The communication control section 111 controls the method forcommunication performed by the right controller 4 with the main bodyapparatus 2.

The right controller 4 includes input sections similar to the inputsections of the left controller 3. Specifically, the right controller 4includes buttons 113, the analog stick 52, and inertial sensors (anacceleration sensor 114 and an angular velocity sensor 115). These inputsections have functions similar to those of the input sections of theleft controller 3 and operate similarly to the input sections of theleft controller 3.

Further, the right controller 4 includes a vibrator 117 and a codecsection 116. The vibrator 117 and the codec section 116 operatesimilarly to the vibrator 107 and the codec section 106, respectively,of the left controller 3. That is, in accordance with a command from themain body apparatus 2, the communication control section 111 causes thevibrator 117 to operate, using the codec section 116.

The right controller 4 includes the NFC communication section 122, whichperforms short-range wireless communication based on the NFC standard.The NFC communication section 122 has the function of a so-called NFCreader/writer. Here, the term “short-range wireless communication” asused herein includes a communication method where a radio wave from anapparatus (here, the right controller 4) develops an electromotive force(e.g., by electromagnetic induction) in another device (here, a devicenear the antenna 122 a). The other device can operate by the developedelectromotive force, and may or may not have a power supply. When theright controller 4 (the antenna 122 a) and a communication target comeclose to each other (typically, the distance between the rightcontroller 4 and the communication target becomes dozen centimeters orless), the NFC communication section 122 becomes able to communicatewith the communication target. The communication target is any apparatuscapable of performing short-range wireless communication with the NFCcommunication section 122 and is, for example, an NFC tag or a storagemedium having the function of an NFC tag. Alternatively, thecommunication target may be another apparatus having an NFC cardemulation function.

Further, the right controller 4 includes the infrared image capturingsection 123. The infrared image capturing section 123 includes aninfrared camera for capturing a portion around the right controller 4.As an example, the main body apparatus 2 and/or the right controller 4calculate information of a captured image (e.g., information related tothe luminance of a plurality of blocks into which at least the entiretyof a partial area of a captured image is divided or the like), and basedon the calculated information, determine a change in the portion aroundthe right controller 4. Further, the infrared image capturing section123 may capture an image using ambient light, but in the exemplaryembodiment, includes the infrared light-emitting section 124, whichemits infrared light. The infrared light-emitting section 124 emitsinfrared light, for example, in synchronization with the timing when theinfrared camera captures an image. Then, the infrared light emitted fromthe infrared light-emitting section 124 is reflected by an imagecapturing target, and the infrared camera receives the reflectedinfrared light, thereby acquiring an image of the infrared light. Thisenables the infrared image capturing section 123 to obtain a clearerinfrared light image. It should be noted that the infrared imagecapturing section 123 and the infrared light-emitting section 124 may beprovided as different devices in the right controller 4, or may beprovided as a single device in the same package in the right controller4. Further, in the exemplary embodiment, the infrared image capturingsection 123 including an infrared camera is used. In another exemplaryembodiment, a visible light camera (a camera using a visible light imagesensor) may be used as image capturing means, instead of the infraredcamera.

The right controller 4 includes a processing section 121. The processingsection 121 is connected to the communication control section 111.Further, the processing section 121 is connected to the NFCcommunication section 122, the infrared image capturing section 123, andthe infrared light-emitting section 124. In accordance with a commandfrom the main body apparatus 2, the processing section 121 performs theprocess of managing the NFC communication section 122. For example, inaccordance with a command from the main body apparatus 2, the processingsection 121 controls the operation of the NFC communication section 122.Further, the processing section 121 controls the start of the NFCcommunication section 122 or controls the operations (specifically,reading, writing, and the like) of the NFC communication section 122performed on a communication target (e.g., an NFC tag). Further, theprocessing section 121 receives, from the main body apparatus 2,information to be transmitted to the communication target via thecommunication control section 111 and passes the information to the NFCcommunication section 122. Further, the processing section 121 acquires,from the NFC communication section 122, information received from thecommunication target and transmits the information to the main bodyapparatus 2 via the communication control section 111.

Further, the processing section 121 includes a CPU, a memory, and thelike. Based on a predetermined program (e.g., an application program forperforming image processing and various calculations) stored in astorage device (e.g., a non-volatile memory or the like) (not shown)included in the right controller 4, and in accordance with a commandfrom the main body apparatus 2, the processing section 121 performs theprocess of managing the infrared image capturing section 123. Forexample, the processing section 121 causes the infrared image capturingsection 123 to perform an image capturing operation. Further, theprocessing section 121 acquires and/or calculates information based onan image capturing result (information of a captured image, informationcalculated from this information, or the like) and transmits theinformation to the main body apparatus 2 via the communication controlsection 111. Further, in accordance with a command from the main bodyapparatus 2, the processing section 121 performs the process of managingthe infrared light-emitting section 124. For example, in accordance witha command from the main body apparatus 2, the processing section 121controls the light emission of the infrared light-emitting section 124.It should be noted that a memory used by the processing section 121 toperform processing may be provided in the processing section 121 or maybe the memory 112.

The right controller 4 includes a power supply section 118. The powersupply section 118 has a function similar to that of the power supplysection 108 of the left controller 3 and operates similarly to the powersupply section 108.

[2. Spherical Controller]

Next, a spherical controller according to the exemplary embodiment willbe described. In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller maybe used as a controller device for giving instructions to the main bodyapparatus 2, instead of the controllers 3 and 4, or together with thecontrollers 3 and/or 4. The details of the spherical controller will nowbe described.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are perspective views showing an example of thespherical controller. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sphericalcontroller 200 as seen from the upper front direction, and FIG. 9 is aperspective view of the spherical controller 200 as seen from the lowerrear direction. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the spherical controller200 includes a spherical controller main body 201 and a strap portion202. For example, the user uses the spherical controller 200 whileholding the controller main body 201 with the strap portion 202 woundaround the arm.

In the following description regarding the spherical controller 200(specifically, the controller main body 201), the up-down direction, theleft-right direction and the front-rear direction are defined asfollows. That is, the direction from the center of the sphericalcontroller main body 201 toward a joystick 212 (i.e., the z-axisnegative direction shown in FIG. 8) is defined as the front direction,and the opposite direction thereto (i.e., the z-axis positive directionshown in FIG. 8) as the rear direction. As seen from the front-reardirection, the direction from the center of the controller main body 201toward the center of an operation surface 213 (i.e., the y-axis positivedirection shown in FIG. 8) is defined as the upper direction, and theopposite direction thereto (i.e., the y-axis negative direction shown inFIG. 8) as the lower direction. Moreover, the direction from the centerof the controller main body 201 toward the right edge of the controllermain body 201 as seen from the front side (i.e., the x-axis positivedirection shown in FIG. 8) is defined as the right direction, and theopposite direction thereto (i.e., the x-axis negative direction shown inFIG. 8) as the left direction. Note that the up-down direction, theleft-right direction and the front-rear direction are orthogonal to eachother.

[2-1. External Configuration of Controller Main Body]

FIG. 10 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of the controllermain body. In FIG. 10, (a) is a front view, (b) a right side view, (c) aleft side view, (d) a plan view, (e) a bottom view, and (f) a back view.

As shown in FIG. 10, the controller main body 201 has a spherical shape.Herein, “spherical shape” means a shape that generally appears to be asphere from outside. A spherical shape may be a perfectly sphericalshape, or may be a perfectly spherical shape except it has cutoutportions and/or protruding portions. A spherical shape may also be ashape a part of which is not spherical. A spherical shape may be aperfectly spherical shape except it is slightly distorted.

(Housing)

As shown in FIG. 10, the controller main body 201 has a sphericalhousing 211. In the exemplary embodiment, the controller main body 201(in other words, the housing 211) is sized so that it can be held in onehand by the user (see FIG. 12). The diameter of the housing 211 is setin the range of 4 cm to 10 cm, for example.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the housing 211. In theexemplary embodiment, the surface of the housing 211 is a substantiallyspherical surface except for holes or cutouts therein to be describedbelow. Note that in other embodiments, the housing 211 may have aspherical surface with protruding portions or depressed portions. Suchportions may be provided for design purposes, for example.

In the present specification, “substantially (in a certain state)” meansto include both cases where the certain state is achieved in a strictsense and cases where the certain state is generally achieved. Forexample, “substantially spherical (surface)” means to includeembodiments where the surface is spherical in a strict sense andembodiments where the surface is not strictly spherical but is generallyspherical.

In the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 has a spherical shape withcutouts and holes therein. The housing 211 is provided with holes forthe purpose of providing operation sections (e.g., the joystick 212 anda reboot button 214 to be described later) on the housing 211 andattaching other components (e.g., the strap portion 202) to the housing211, the details of which will be described later.

Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the front end portion of thehousing 211 is a flat surface (see (b) to (e) of FIG. 10). Hereinafter,the flat surface of the front end portion of the housing 211 will bereferred to as the “front end surface”. It can be said that the housing211 has a shape obtained by cutting off the front end portion of thespherical shape by truncating the spherical shape along a plane thatincludes the front end surface. As shown in FIG. 11, an opening 211 a isprovided in the front end surface of the housing 211. The joystick 212is provided so as to be exposed through the opening 211 a, the detailsof which will be described later. While the opening 211 a has a circularshape in the exemplary embodiment, the opening 211 a may have any othershape in other embodiments. For example, the shape of the opening 211 amay be a polygonal shape (specifically, a triangular shape, aquadrilateral shape, a pentagonal shape, etc.), an elliptical shape or astar shape.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211includes an upper housing part 221, a middle housing part 222, and alower housing part 223. The upper housing part 221 and the lower housingpart 223 are each a hemispherical shape. The middle housing part 222 isa portion that includes the front end surface and where the opening 211a is provided. These three housing parts 221 to 223 are connectedtogether to form the spherical housing 211.

As shown in FIG. 11, the upper housing part 221 has a hemisphericalshape. The lower housing part 223 also has a hemispherical shape as doesthe upper housing part 221. It can be said that the upper housing part221 and the lower housing part 223 are each a hemispherical housing.Herein, “hemispherical shape” means a shape that generally appears to bea hemisphere from outside. A hemispherical shape may be a perfectlyhemispherical shape, or may be a perfectly hemispherical shape except ithas cutout portions and/or protruding portions. A hemispherical shapemay also be a shape a part of which is not spherical. A hemisphericalshape may be one half of a perfectly spherical shape except it isslightly distorted.

The middle housing part 222 has a ring (or “annular”) shape as shown inFIG. 11 and FIG. 19 to be discussed later. The middle housing part 222is provided between the upper housing part 221 and the lower housingpart 223. In the exemplary embodiment, the middle housing part 222 has aspherical zone shape (i.e., a band-shaped piece of a sphere that isdefined between two parallel planes running through the sphere).

Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 is composed of threehousing parts. Note that in other embodiments, there is no limitation onthe number of housing parts of the housing 211, and it may be two orfour or more. Alternatively, the entire housing 211 may be integral.

(Regarding External Appearance of Housing)

As shown in FIG. 11, in the exemplary embodiment, two housing parts areconnected together to form a seam on the surface of the housing 211.That is, the upper housing part 221 and the middle housing part 222 forma seam therebetween, and the middle housing part 222 and the lowerhousing part 223 form a seam therebetween. Herein, the seam includesline portions (e.g., the lines L1 and L2 shown in FIG. 11) that appearto be straight when the spherical controller 200 is seen from thedirection from the center of an operation surface 252 c of the joystick212 (see FIG. 13) toward the center of the housing 211 (i.e., thedirection from the front side toward the rear side; see (a) of FIG. 10).Note that it can be said that the seam is the boundary between a firsthemispherical portion (e.g., the upper housing part 221) and a secondhemispherical portion (e.g., the middle housing part 222 and the lowerhousing part 223) included in the housing 211.

Herein, since the controller main body 201 is a sphere, it may bedifficult for the user to recognize the orientation of the controllermain body 201 based only on the outer shape of the controller main body201. In the exemplary embodiment, with the line portions describedabove, it is easier for the user to recognize the orientation of thecontroller main body 201. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, theuser can recognize that the direction in which the line portionsdescribed above extend is the left-right direction of the controllermain body 201.

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided so as to belocated on the extensions of the line portions as the sphericalcontroller 200 is seen from the direction from the joystick 212 towardthe center of the housing 211 (i.e., the direction from the front sidetoward the rear side) (see (a) of FIG. 10). Thus, the user can judge theorientation of the joystick 212 based on the direction of the lineportions. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, the user canrecognize that the direction along the line portions is the direction ofleft-right inputs on the joystick 212.

In the exemplary embodiment, the line portions of the seam are formed onopposite sides of the joystick 212 (see (a) of FIG. 10). Then, thejoystick 212 and the line portions can be presented to the user in aneasy-to-see manner, and the relationship between the joystick 212 andthe line portions is made easier to understand. For example, the usercan recognize the relationship between the joystick 212 and the lineportions whether the joystick 212 is seen from one side (e.g., the leftside) or from the other side (e.g., the right side).

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211includes the first housing part (i.e., the upper housing part 221), thesecond housing part (i.e., the lower housing part 223), and a sphericalzone-shaped third housing part (i.e., the middle housing part 222)provided between the first housing part and the second housing part.Herein, since the third housing part is spherical zone-shaped, the thirdhousing part has a band-shaped portion that extends along a sphericalzone that is defined between two parallel planes running through thehousing 211 (see FIG. 11). The band-shaped portion provides a similareffect to that of the line portions of the seam. That is, in theexemplary embodiment, the band-shaped portion makes it easier for theuser to recognize the orientation of the controller main body 201. Forexample, in the exemplary embodiment, the user can recognize that thedirection in which the band-shaped portion extends is the left-rightdirection of the controller main body 201.

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided on the thirdhousing part (see (a) of FIG. 10). That is the joystick 212 is providedon the extension of the band-shaped portion as the spherical controller200 is seen from the direction from the joystick 212 toward the centerof the housing 211 (i.e., the direction from the front side toward therear side) (see (a) of FIG. 10). Then, the user can judge theorientation of the joystick 212 based on the direction in which theband-shaped portion extends. For example, in the exemplary embodiment,the user can recognize that the direction in which the band-shapedportion extends is the direction of left-right inputs on the joystick212.

In the exemplary embodiment, the band-shaped portion is provided on bothsides of the joystick 212 (see (a) of FIG. 10). Then, the joystick 212and the band-shaped portion can be presented to the user in aneasy-to-see manner, and the relationship between the joystick 212 andthe band-shaped portion is made easier to understand. For example, theuser can visually recognize the relationship between the joystick 212and the band-shaped portion whether the joystick 212 is seen from oneside (e.g., the left side) or from the other side (e.g., the rightside).

In the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 includes a hemisphericalfirst housing part (i.e., the upper housing part 221) and ahemispherical second housing part (i.e., the lower housing part 223).Thus, the user can recognize the orientation of the controller main body201 based on the positional relationship between the two hemisphericalhousing parts. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, the user canrecognize that one side where one housing part is provided is the upperside of the controller main body 201, and the other side where the otherhousing part is provided is the lower side of the controller main body201.

In the exemplary embodiment, the hemispherical upper housing part 221and the hemispherical lower housing part 223 have different colors.Specifically, the surface of the upper housing part 221 is red (thecolor of red is represented by dots in FIG. 11), and the surface of thelower housing part 223 is white. Note that in other embodiments, theupper housing part 221 and the lower housing part 223 may have differentpatterns from each other, or may have both different colors anddifferent patterns from each other. Thus, as the upper housing part 221and the lower housing part 223 are different from each other in terms ofat least one of color and pattern, the user can recognize, in aneasy-to-understand manner, the upper and lower sides of the sphericalcontroller 200.

(Joystick)

The controller main body 201 includes the joystick 212, which is anexample of a direction input section (see (a) to (e) of FIG. 10). In theexemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 includes a shaft portion that canbe tilted in any direction by the user (i.e., a shaft portion 252 shownin FIG. 19 to be discussed later). In the exemplary embodiment, thejoystick 212 is a type of a joystick such that the shaft portion iscapable of being depressed in addition to being tilted, the details ofwhich will be described later. Note that in other embodiments, thejoystick 212 may be another type of an input device (see “[3.Variations]” to be described later).

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided in the frontend portion of the housing 211. As shown in FIG. 10, the joystick 212 isprovided so that a portion (specifically, the shaft portion) of thejoystick 212 is exposed through the opening 211 a of the housing 211.The position of the joystick 212 is at the center of the sphericalcontroller main body 201 with respect to the up-down direction and theleft-right direction (see (a) of FIG. 10).

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided so that theshaft portion thereof is arranged along a straight line (specifically,the straight line L4 shown in FIG. 13 to be discussed later) that passesthrough the center of the housing 211 and is parallel to the front-reardirection. In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided sothat the axis of the shaft portion thereof is parallel to the front-reardirection. Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the front-reardirection of the spherical controller 200 is defined to be the directionfrom the center of the housing 211 toward the center of the tip surfaceof the shaft portion (i.e., the front side surface of a tip portion 252b shown in FIG. 21 to be discussed later).

Note that in the present specification, a straight line passing througha certain component, such as the “straight line that passes through thecenter of the housing 211”, for example, may be used in the descriptionof the spherical controller 200. Similarly, in the exemplary embodiment,a plane (e.g., a plane P1 shown in FIG. 13) or a region (e.g., a regionR shown in FIG. 27) associated with a certain component may be used inthe description. Herein, a straight line, a plane and a region asdescribed above are those that are defined virtually for the sake ofdiscussion, and do not need to be components that actually exist (inother words, that the spherical controller 200 is provided with).

In the exemplary embodiment, a portion of the joystick 212 (morespecifically, a portion of the shaft portion) protrudes from the planeof the front end portion of the housing 211 (see (b) and (c) of FIG.10). Therefore, the user can easily perform the operation of tilting theshaft portion. Note that in other embodiments, the joystick 212 may notprotrude from the plane but may be exposed through the opening 211 a.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes the spherical housing 211 with the opening 211 ain the surface thereof, and the joystick 212 that includes the shaftportion 252 that can be tilted and is at least partially exposed throughthe opening 211 a. Then, the user can use a game controller having aspherical outer shape to perform a direction input operation of tiltingthe shaft portion. That is, in the exemplary embodiment, it is possibleto perform subtler operations using a game controller having a sphericalouter shape.

(Operation Surface)

As shown in (d) of FIG. 10, the operation surface 213 is provided in theupper end portion of the housing 211. The position of the operationsurface 213 is at the center of the spherical controller main body 201with respect to the left-right direction and the front-rear direction(see (d) of FIG. 10). In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface213 (in other words, the outer circumference of the operation surface213) has a circular shape on the spherical surface of the housing 211.Note however that in other embodiments, there is no limitation on theshape of the operation surface 213, and the shape may be a quadrilateralshape or a triangular shape, etc., for example. The operation surface213 is configured so that it is capable of being depressed from above,the details of which will be described later.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 is integral withthe surface of the housing 211. The operation surface 213 is a part ofan operation section (or an “operation button”) that is capable of beingdepressed. Note however that since the operation surface 213 is integralwith the rest of the housing 211 other than the operation surface 213,it can be said to be a part of the housing 211. Note that in theexemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 can be deformed by beingdepressed, the details of which will be described later. An input ismade on the operation section having the operation surface 213 bydepressing the operation surface 213.

(Regarding Arrangement of Joystick and Operation Surface)

Referring to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the positional relationship betweenthe joystick 212 and the operation surface 213 will now be described.FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of how the controller main bodyis held by the user. As shown in FIG. 12, the user, while holding thecontroller main body 201 in one hand, is allowed to operate the joystick212 with the thumb and operate the operation surface 213 with the indexfinger. Note that FIG. 12 shows an example where the controller mainbody 201 is held in the left hand of the user. Note however that alsowhen the controller main body 201 is held in the right hand by the user,the user is similarly allowed to operate the joystick 212 with the thumbof the right hand and operate the operation surface 213 with the indexfinger of the right hand.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface213 is provided that is capable of being depressed. Then, the user canuse the game controller having a spherical outer shape both to make adirection input using the joystick and to depress the operation surface213. Thus, it is possible to perform various operations using the gamecontroller having a spherical outer shape.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationshipbetween the joystick and the operation surface. As shown in FIG. 13, inthe exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 is provided at aposition where the straight line L3 passing through the center C of thehousing 211 and the operation surface 213 substantially orthogonallycrosses the straight line L4 passing through the center C and thejoystick 212.

According to the description above, the user can easily operate thejoystick 212 and the operation surface 213 with two fingers (e.g., thethumb and the index finger) of one hand. Specifically, in the exemplaryembodiment, the user is allowed to hold the controller main body 201 sothat the thumb for operating the joystick 212 and the index finger foroperating the operation surface 213 can both easily be bent toward thecenter C of the housing 211 (see FIG. 12). Therefore, since the user caneasily apply force on the joystick 212 and the operation surface 213,the user can easily operate the joystick 212 and the operation surface213.

The “straight line passing through the operation surface 213” is thestraight line L3 that passes through the center of the operation surface213 (see FIG. 13). The “straight line passing through the joystick 212”is the straight line L4 that passes through the center of the operationsurface 252 c of the joystick 212. Note that the operation surface 252 cis a surface on the front side (in other words, the tip side) of theshaft portion (more specifically, the tip portion 252 b) of the joystick212, the details of which will be described later.

Note that it can also be said that the operation surface 213 is providedat such a position that the operation surface 213 crosses the orthogonalstraight line that passes through the center C of the housing 211 andthat is substantially orthogonal to the straight line L4 that passesthrough the center C and the joystick 212. Thus, the operation surface213 may be provided not only at such a position that the center of theoperation surface 213 is aligned with the orthogonal straight line in astrict sense, but may also be provided so that the orthogonal straightline crosses the operation surface 213 at any position of the operationsurface 213, for example. Also in such a case, the user can easilyoperate the joystick 212 and the operation surface 213.

In the exemplary embodiment, it can be said that the operation surface213 is provided at such a position that the direction from the center Cof the housing 211 toward the operation surface 213 substantiallycoincides with the “up input direction” (in other words, provided at aposition through which the straight line extending from the center C ofthe housing 211 in the up input direction passes). Herein, the “up inputdirection” is the direction in which the shaft portion of the joystick212 is tilted in order to give an up instruction (see FIG. 13). Morespecifically, the “up input direction” is the direction in which theshaft portion of the joystick 212 is tilted in order to give an upinstruction in a state where no operation is being performed on thejoystick 212. That is, in the exemplary embodiment, the “up inputdirection” is a direction that is perpendicular to the direction fromthe center of the operation surface 252 c of the joystick 212 toward thecenter C of the housing 211. Note that in a game application in whichoperations are performed by using the spherical controller 200, forexample, an instruction to move up an object (e.g., a game character ora cursor) displayed on the screen can be said to be an “up instruction”.Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the “up input direction” isthe up direction described above. Note that the “down input direction”,the “left input direction” and the “right input direction” are definedin a similar manner to the “up input direction”.

According to the description above, the operation surface 213 isprovided in the direction in which the joystick 212 is tilted to make anup direction. Thus, the operation surface 213 can be arranged at such aposition that the operation surface 213 can be operated with the indexfinger in a case where the joystick 212 is operated with the thumb. Thatis, it is possible to improve the operability of the joystick 212 andthe operation surface 213.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationshipbetween the joystick and the operation surface. As shown in FIG. 14, itcan also be said that the operation surface 213 is provided on the sideof the up input direction relative to the joystick 212 (i.e., above thedotted line shown in FIG. 14) in the exemplary embodiment. In otherembodiments, the operation surface 213 may be provided at a positionthat is not the upper end of the controller main body 201 as in theexemplary embodiment but that is on the side of the “up input direction”relative to the joystick. Then, in a case where the joystick 212 isoperated with the thumb, the user can easily operate the operationsurface 213 with a finger other than the thumb (e.g., the index fingeror the middle finger). Therefore, as the operation surface 213 isprovided on the side of the up input direction relative to the joystick,it is possible to improve the operability of the joystick 212 and theoperation surface 213.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 is capable ofbeing depressed in a direction that is substantially opposite to the upinput direction (i.e., the down direction). That is, in the exemplaryembodiment, the direction in which the shaft portion is tilted in orderto given an up instruction using the joystick 212 is substantiallyopposite to the direction in which the operation surface 213 isdepressed. Thus, it is possible to realize a configuration such that theoperation surface 213 can be depressed easily.

Note that the “direction substantially opposite to the up inputdirection” does not need to be the “direction substantially opposite tothe up input direction” in a strict sense, but means to include adirection that generally coincides with the “direction substantiallyopposite to the up input direction”. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, in response to being depressed, the operation surface 213 isdeformed while moving downward as a whole, the details of which will bedescribed later. A key top 235 to be described later pivots in responseto the operation surface 213 being depressed. Thus, even in anembodiment where the operation surface 213 and/or the key top 235 doesnot move in the “direction opposite to the up input direction” in astrict sense, it can be said that the operation surface 213 “is capableof being depressed in a direction that is substantially opposite to theup input direction”.

As shown in FIG. 13, in the exemplary embodiment, at least a portion(the front half in the exemplary embodiment) of the operation surface213 is located on the side of the joystick 212 relative to the plane P1that includes the center C of the housing 211 and that is perpendicularto the direction from the joystick 212 toward the center C of thehousing 211 (specifically, the direction from the center of theoperation surface 252 c of the joystick 212 toward the center C of thehousing 211). Then, the operation surface 213 can be arranged at such aposition that the operation surface 213 can be easily operated with theindex finger in a case where the joystick 212 is operated with thethumb, and it is therefore possible to improve the operability of thejoystick 212 and the operation surface 213. Note that in otherembodiments, the operation surface 213 may be provided at any positionon the side of the joystick 212 relative to the plane P1. In otherembodiments, the operation surface 213 may be provided at a positionthat is on the opposite side from the joystick 212 relative to the planeP1.

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is provided between theupper housing part 221 and the lower housing part 223 (i.e., in themiddle housing part 222) on the surface of the housing 211, and theoperation surface 213 is provided near the zenith of the upper housingpart 221 (in other words, near the center of the surface of the upperhousing part). In other words, the joystick 212 is positioned at theboundary (e.g., the middle housing part 222) between the firsthemispherical portion (e.g., the upper housing part 221) and the secondhemispherical portion (e.g., the lower housing part 223) of thespherical housing 211, and the operation surface 213 is provided at thezenith, which is the apex of the first hemispherical portion. Accordingto the description above, it is possible to realize an arrangement suchthat the joystick 212 and the operation surface 213 can be operatedeasily with the thumb and the index finger as described above. Note thatthe “zenith” of a hemisphere refers to a point where a vertical lineextended from the center of the hemisphere (i.e., the center of a spherewhich the hemisphere is a part of) crosses the spherical surface of thehemisphere when the hemisphere is placed on a horizontal surface withthe bottom surface facing down (note however that “zenith” may bereferred to simply as “apex”).

Herein, the “boundary between the first hemispherical portion and thesecond hemispherical portion” in the exemplary embodiment refers to acomponent (e.g., the middle housing part 222) provided between the firsthemispherical portion (e.g., the upper housing part 221) and the secondhemispherical portion (e.g., the lower housing part 223). Thus, theboundary between the first hemispherical portion and the secondhemispherical portion may be a section having a certain area. Notehowever that the boundary is not limited to a component provided betweentwo hemispherical portions. For example, in other embodiments, theboundary may be a seam between the two hemispherical portions, or a lineon the housing 211 (e.g., a line drawn on the housing).

Note that there is no limitation on the position of the operationsurface 213, and in other embodiments, the operation surface 213 may beprovided at any other position on the upper portion of the housing 211(i.e., the upper housing part 221) or may be provided on the lowerportion of the housing 211 (i.e., the lower housing part 223).

As shown in FIG. 11, an indication 211 b indicating the position of theoperation surface 213 is provided on the housing 211 in the exemplaryembodiment. In the exemplary embodiment, the indication 211 b indicatesthe position corresponding to the outer circumference of the operationsurface 213. Specifically, the indication 211 b is provided around theboundary between the housing 211 and the operation surface 213. Notethat the indication 211 b may be provided on the housing 211 or on theoperation surface 213. According to the exemplary embodiment, theindication 211 b allows the user to recognize a region of the housing211 to be the operation surface 213 (i.e., a region that can bedepressed).

In the exemplary embodiment, the indication 211 b is a line of groove(in other words, depression) formed on the surface of the housing 211.Note however that the indication 211 b may be any indication with whichthe user can identify the position of the operation surface 213. Notethat in other embodiments, the indication 211 b may be a projection (ora depression) provided at the center of the operation surface 213, forexample. Thus, by forming a projection and/or a depression on thesurface of the housing 211 as the indication, the user can tactilelyknow the position of the operation surface 213. Note that in otherembodiments, the indication 211 b may indicate the region of theoperation surface 213 by using a color that is different from the colorof the region of the housing 211 other than the operation surface 213.Note however that in other embodiments, the indication 211 b may bedrawn with a paint on the surface of the housing 211. In this way, as inthe exemplary embodiment, the indication 211 b allows the user torecognize the region of the housing 211 to be the operation surface 213(i.e., the region that can be depressed).

(Strap Hole)

As shown in (f) of FIG. 10, a strap hole 211 c to which the strapportion 202 is attached is provided in the rear end portion of thehousing 211. The position of the strap hole 211 c is at the center ofthe spherical controller main body 201 with respect to the up-downdirection and the left-right direction (see (f) of FIG. 10). The strapportion 202 is attached to the controller main body 201 by passing thestrap chord of the strap portion 202 through the strap hole 211 c, thedetails of which will be described later. Note that in otherembodiments, there is no limitation on the position of the strap hole211 c, and the strap hole 211 c may be provided at any position on therear side of the housing 211 or may be provided in the lower end portionof the housing 211, for example.

(Reboot Button)

The controller main body 201 includes the reboot button 214. The rebootbutton 214 is a button for giving an instruction to reboot the sphericalcontroller 200, the details of which will be described later.

As shown in (c) and (f) of FIG. 10, the reboot button 214 is provided ata position that is on the left side of the rear end of the housing 211.The position in the up-down direction of the reboot button 214 is at thecenter of the spherical controller main body 201. The position in thefront-rear direction of the reboot button 214 is on the rear siderelative to the center of the spherical controller main body 201. Notethat in other embodiments, there is no limitation on the position of thereboot button 214, and the reboot button 214 may be provided at anyposition on the rear side of the housing 211, for example.

(Cover Portion)

As shown in (f) of FIG. 10, a cover portion 215 is provided under thestrap hole 211 c of the housing 211. The cover portion 215 can beopened/closed relative to the portion of the controller main body 201other than the cover portion 215, the details of which will be describedlater. A recessed surface (i.e., a recessed surface 245 d shown in FIG.20) is provided on the inside of the cover portion 215, the details ofwhich will be described later. The cover portion 215 is provided so asto cover the recessed surface when the cover portion 215 is in theclosed position. On the other hand, when the cover portion 215 is in theopen position, the recessed surface is exposed to the outside of thecontroller main body 201. As shown in (b), (c) and (e) of FIG. 10, thesurface of the cover portion 215 is a spherical surface forming a partof the spherical surface of the spherical controller main body 201.Therefore, it can also be said that the cover portion 215 is a part ofthe housing 211.

[2-2. Internal Configuration of Controller Main Body]

Next, an internal configuration of the controller main body 201 will bedescribed. In the exemplary embodiment, the controller main body 201 iscomposed of an upper unit including the upper housing part 221 describedabove, a middle unit including the middle housing part 222 describedabove, and lower unit including the lower housing part 223 describedabove (see FIG. 24 and FIG. 25 to be discussed later). The internalconfiguration will now be described for each unit.

[2-2-1. Upper Unit]

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are exploded perspective views of an example of anupper unit. FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view as the upper unit isseen from the upper front side, and FIG. 16 is an exploded perspectiveview as the upper unit is seen from the lower rear side. FIG. 17 is across-sectional view of an example of an upper unit. FIG. 17 is across-sectional view showing a cross section that passes through thecenter of the controller main body 201 and is perpendicular to theleft-right direction.

(Upper Housing Part)

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, an upper unit 230 includes the upperhousing part 221. As described above, the upper housing part 221 has ahemispherical shape. Note that as shown in FIG. 16, the upper housingpart 221 is open on the lower side thereof, and does not have a surfacethat corresponds to the bottom surface of the hemisphere. Therefore, itcan also be said that the upper housing part 221 has a hemisphericalsurface shape. It can also be said that the upper housing part 221 has ashape of a spherical cap (i.e., a side surface portion of a solidobtained by cutting a sphere along a plane (i.e., a spherical segment)).

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, in the exemplary embodiment, the upperhousing part 221 has a hemispherical shape with a front end portionthereof cut off. Specifically, the upper housing part 221 has ahemispherical shape with a front end portion thereof cut off along aplane that is perpendicular to the front-rear direction. The upperhousing part 221 has an edge 221 a that is the circumference of thebottom surface of the hemisphere, and an edge 221 b that is produced bycutting off the front end portion of the hemispherical surface along theplane described above. The edge 221 b defines a shape that appears to besemicircular as the upper housing part 221 is seen from the front side.Note that the shape of the cutout of the upper housing part 221 is ashape corresponding to the shape of the front end surface describedabove of the middle housing part 222 (specifically, a shape thatsubstantially coincides with the upper edge of the front end surface),and specifically the shape is semicircular. Note however that there isno limitation on the shape of the cutout, and the shape may be any shapeother than semicircular in other embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the upper housing part 221 has an outersurface portion 231 and an inner wall portion 232. The outer surfaceportion 231 is a component that forms the outer surface of the upperhousing part 221. That is, the outer surface portion 231 has ahemispherical shape as does the upper housing part 221. In the exemplaryembodiment, the outer surface portion 231 is integral with the operationsurface 213. As does the upper housing part 221, the outer surfaceportion 231 has a shape obtained by cutting off a front end portion ofthe hemispherical surface.

In the exemplary embodiment, the outer surface portion 231 is made of amaterial that is relatively soft (specifically, softer than the innerwall portion 232 or softer than the middle housing part 222).Specifically, the material of the outer surface portion 231 in theexemplary embodiment is an elastomer. The operation surface 213 that isintegral with the outer surface portion 231 is also made of the samematerial as the outer surface portion 231. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, an outer surface portion 272 forming the surface of thelower housing part 223 is also made of an elastic material as is theouter surface portion 231, the details of which will be described later.Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, at least a portion of the surface ofthe housing 211 is made of an elastic material, making it easier for theuser to hold the housing 211. This also improves the feel when the userholds the housing 211. This also makes it easier to absorb a shock onthe controller main body 201, and it is possible to reduce the influenceof the shock reaching the components inside of the housing 211.

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the inner wall portion 232 is acomponent that forms the inner wall of the upper housing part 221. Theinner wall portion 232 has a hemispherical shape as does the upperhousing part 221. More specifically, as does the upper housing part 221,the inner wall portion 232 has a shape obtained by cutting off a frontend portion of the hemispherical surface. In the exemplary embodiment,the inner wall portion 232 is made of a material that is harder than theouter surface portion 231. For example, the material of the inner wallportion 232 is a resin that is harder than the elastomer of the outersurface portion 231. The inner wall portion 232 is connected to theinner side of the outer surface portion 231 (see FIG. 17). The innerwall portion 232 is attached to the inner side of the outer surfaceportion 231 via an adhesive or thermal fusion, for example. Note thatthe inner wall portion 232 is sized so that the outer surface of theinner wall portion 232 coincides with the inner surface of the outersurface portion 231.

Herein, the inner wall portion 232 has a hole therein provided in theupper end portion of the hemispherical surface. Specifically, the innerwall portion 232 has a hole therein provided so as to correspond to theoperation surface 213. The hole in the inner wall portion 232 has acircular shape of substantially the same size as the circular operationsurface 213. Of the inner surface of the outer surface portion 231 andthe operation surface 213, the region other than the reverse side of theoperation surface 213 is attached to the inner wall portion 232, and theregion on the reverse side of the operation surface 213 is not attachedto the inner wall portion 232. Therefore, since the outer surfaceportion 231 is reinforced by the inner wall portion 232, the outersurface portion 231 does not deform significantly even when some forceis applied thereto. On the other hand, the operation surface 213 is notreinforced by the inner wall portion 232, and deforms when some force isapplied thereto. For example, the operation surface 213 deforms by beingdepressed from above, and moves downward. Thus, in the exemplaryembodiment, the outer surface portion 231 and the operation surface 213are integral together and the region of the operation surface 213 can bedepressed.

In the exemplary embodiment, the inner wall portion 232 is black. In theexemplary embodiment, a light-emitting section (i.e., a light-emittingsection 248 shown in FIG. 19) is provided inside the housing 211, andlight is emitted through the opening 211 a of the housing 211 to theoutside of the housing 211, the details of which will be describedlater. Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, the inner wall portion232 is made of a black material so as to prevent light from thelight-emitting section from passing through the inner wall portion 232as much as possible.

As shown in FIG. 16, the inner wall portion 232 is provided with abearing portion 231 a. The bearing portion 231 a has a groove into whicha rotation shaft 235 b of the key top 235 to be described later can beinserted.

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the upper housing part 221 includes ashock absorber 233. The shock absorber 233 is provided on a portion ofthe inner surface of the inner wall portion 232 with which the rotationshaft of the key top to be described later comes into contact, thedetails of which will be described later.

(Key Top)

As shown in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, the upper unit 230 includes the key top235. The key top 235 is an example of a movable portion that can move inresponse to the operation surface 213 being depressed. In the exemplaryembodiment, the key top 235 pivots in response to the operation surface213 being depressed, the details of which will be described later.Therefore, it can also be said that the key top 235 is an example of apivot portion that pivots in response to the operation surface 213 beingdepressed.

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 17, the key top 235 includes a disc portion235 a having a disc shape, and the rotation shaft 235 b. In theexemplary embodiment, the rotation shaft 235 b is provided on the frontside of the disc portion 235 a. The key top 235 is provided so that itcan pivot about the rotation shaft 235 b, the details of which will bedescribed later. As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a protruding portion235 c is provided on the lower side of the disc portion 235 a.

(Key Rubber)

As shown in FIG. 15, the upper unit 230 includes a key rubber 236. Thekey rubber 236 is made of an elastic material such as a rubber, forexample. The key rubber 236 deforms as the key top 235 (specifically,the protruding portion 235 c) moves downward, the details of which willbe described later.

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 17, the key rubber 236 includes a discportion 236 a having a disc shape. As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 17, thekey rubber 236 includes a cylindrical portion 236 b having a cylindricalshape provided on the upper side of the disc portion 236 a. Thecylindrical portion 236 b is provided so as to extend upward from thevicinity of the center of the disc portion 236 a. The cylindricalportion 236 b is provided for the purpose of deforming the key rubber236 in response to the movement of the key top 235, the details of whichwill be described later.

As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the key rubber 236 includes an annularportion 236 c protruding downward from the outer circumference portionof the disc portion 236 a. The key rubber 236 also includes a protrudingportion 236 d protruding downward from the vicinity of the center of thedisc portion 236 a. As shown in FIG. 17, with no force applied to thekey rubber 236, the annular portion 236 c protrudes below the protrudingportion 236 d.

(Sub-Substrate)

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the upper unit 230 includes asub-substrate 237. In the exemplary embodiment, the sub-substrate 237 isa plate-shaped substrate. Note however that the sub-substrate 237 may bea flexible print circuit board that can be bent. The sub-substrate 237is provided with a contact 237 a which the key rubber 236 comes intocontact with when the operation surface 213 is operated, and a detectioncircuit for detecting the contact of the key rubber 236 with the contact237 a, the details of which will be described later. Note that there isno limitation on the specific configuration of the contact 237 a. Forexample, the contact 237 a may include a movable contact that moves inresponse to the downward movement of the key rubber 236, and a fixedcontact which the movable contact comes into contact with when themovable contact moves. While a component including a movable contact anda fixed contact is referred to as a contact in the presentspecification, such a component can also be called a switch. As shown inFIG. 17, the sub-substrate 237 is also provided with an antenna 291. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the antenna 291 is provided on the front sideof the sub-substrate 237.

(Sub-Substrate Holding Portion)

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the upper unit 230 includes asub-substrate holding portion 238 for holding the sub-substrate 237. Thesub-substrate holding portion 238 includes a flat upper surface to whichthe sub-substrate 237 is attached. The sub-substrate holding portion 238also includes a protruding portion 238 a protruding from the uppersurface. The protruding portion 238 a is provided at the front end ofthe upper surface of the sub-substrate holding portion 238.

(Arrangement of Components)

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the components included in the upperunit 230 are arranged in the following order from top to bottom: theupper housing part 221, the key top 235, the key rubber 236, thesub-substrate 237 and the sub-substrate holding portion 238. In theexemplary embodiment, the components included in the upper unit 230 aresecured by screws 239 (three screws 239 in the exemplary embodiment).Specifically, screw holes that are open on the lower side are providedon the inner surface of the inner wall portion 232 of the upper housingpart 221. The sub-substrate 237 and the sub-substrate holding portion238 are provided with holes at positions corresponding to the screwholes. As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the screws 239 are screwed intothe screw holes of the upper housing part 221 through the holes of thesub-substrate 237 and the holes of the sub-substrate holding portion238, thereby securing together the upper housing part 221, thesub-substrate 237 and the sub-substrate holding portion 238.

The key top 235 is held by being sandwiched between the upper housingpart 221 and the sub-substrate 237. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17,the rotation shaft 235 b of the key top 235 is sandwiched between theupper housing part 221 and the protruding portion 238 a of thesub-substrate holding portion 238. Thus, the rotation shaft 235 b issecured with respect to the up-down direction. The key top 235 isprovided in such an orientation that the rotation shaft 235 b isparallel to the left-right direction. The rotation shaft 235 b isinserted into the groove of the bearing portion 231 a. The rotationshaft 235 b is secured with respect to the left-right direction by thisgroove. Thus, the key top 235 is held so that the key top 235 can pivotabout the rotation shaft 235 b with respect to the upper housing part221.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the shock absorber 233 isprovided on a portion of the inner surface of the upper housing part 221where the rotation shaft 235 b comes into contact. Therefore, therotation shaft 235 b sandwiched between the upper housing part 221 andthe sub-substrate 237 is held while pressing and deforming the shockabsorber 233. Thus, it is possible to reduce the rattling of therotation shaft 235 b.

As shown in FIG. 17, the key top 235 is provided on the inner side ofthe upper housing part 221. The upper surface of the disc portion 235 aof the key top 235 is in contact with the reverse side of the operationsurface 213, which is continuous with the outer surface portion 231 ofthe upper housing part 221.

As shown in FIG. 15, the key rubber 236 is attached under the key top235. The key rubber 236 is provided between the key top 235 and thesub-substrate 237. Specifically, the protruding portion 235 c of the keytop 235 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 236 b of the key rubber236 (see FIG. 17). Thus, the key top 235 and the key rubber 236 areconnected together. Therefore, when the key top 235 moves, thecylindrical portion 236 b moves integrally with the key top 235,deforming the key rubber 236. As shown in FIG. 17, the key rubber 236 isprovided so that the annular portion 236 c is in contact with thesub-substrate 237 with the protruding portion 235 c inserted in thecylindrical portion 236 b. Note that the protruding portion 236 d isarranged at a position opposing the contact 237 a of the sub-substrate237.

Herein, while the operation surface 213 is not being operated (e.g., thestate shown in FIG. 17), the key rubber 236 is kept in its originalshape (i.e., un-deformed shape). That is, in this state, the annularportion 236 c is in contact with the sub-substrate 237, and theprotruding portion 236 d is not in contact with the contact 237 a of thesub-substrate 237.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the upper unit withthe operation surface 213 depressed. As shown in FIG. 18, when theoperation surface 213 is depressed, the operation surface 213 deformsand moves downward (see the arrow shown in FIG. 18). In response to thedownward movement of the operation surface 213, the key top 235 pivotsabout the rotation shaft 235 b, and the disc portion 235 a movesdownward. In response to the downward movement of the disc portion 235a, the key rubber 236 deforms, and the protruding portion 236 d movesdownward. As a result, the protruding portion 236 d comes into contactwith the contact 237 a of the sub-substrate 237. The detection circuitof the sub-substrate 237 detects the contact of the protruding portion236 d with the contact 237 a. Thus, the spherical controller 200 candetect an operation performed on the operation surface 213.

Note that when there is no longer a depressing operation on theoperation surface 213, the key rubber 236 returns to its original shapeby its own elasticity. Thus, the protruding portion 236 d and thecontact 237 a are no longer in contact with each other.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes a movable portion (i.e., the key top 235), adetection section (i.e., a detection circuit provided on thesub-substrate 237). The movable portion can pivot about a rotation shaft(specifically, the rotation shaft 235 b parallel to the left-rightdirection) that is substantially perpendicular to the straight line thatconnects together the center of the housing 211 and the operationsurface 213, and pivots in response to the operation surface 213 beingdepressed. The detection section detects the operation on the operationsurface 213 in response to the pivot of the movable portion. Therefore,according to the exemplary embodiment, no matter which part of theoperation surface 213 is depressed, the movable portion pivots in onedirection, and the detection section detects the operation based on thepivot of the movable portion. Thus, the detection section can easilydetect the operation no matter which part of the operation surface 213is depressed. Therefore, according to the exemplary embodiment, it ispossible to reduce the possibility that the operation on the operationsurface 213 is not detected.

In the exemplary embodiment, the rotation shaft 235 b of the key top 235is provided on the front side of the disc portion 235 a (see FIG. 17).In other words, the rotation shaft 235 b is provided on the front siderelative to the center of the operation surface 213. Therefore, it canbe said that the rotation shaft 235 b is provided at such a positionthat the distance from the joystick 212 to the rotation shaft 235 b isshorter than the distance from the joystick 212 to the operation surface213.

By providing the rotation shaft 235 b at such a position, the rear sideof the key top 235 moves farther than the front side thereof when theoperation surface 213 is depressed. Therefore, it is easier for the userto depress a rear position of the operation surface 213 because thedistance by which the operation surface 213 is depressed is greater,than to depress a front position thereof. On the other hand, assuming acase where the user operates the joystick 212 with the thumb and theoperation surface 213 with the index finger (see FIG. 12), it isbelieved that it is more likely that the user depresses a rear side,than a front side, relative to the center of the operation surface 213.Therefore, according to the exemplary embodiment, it is made easier forthe user to depress a position (i.e., a rear position) of the operationsurface 213 that the user is more likely to operate, thus improving theoperability of the depressing operation.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the rotation shaft 235b of the key top 235 is provided parallel to the left-right direction.In other embodiments, the orientation of the rotation shaft 235 b is notlimited to the left-right direction, but may be any other orientation.For example, in other embodiments, the rotation shaft 235 b may beprovided to be parallel to the front-rear direction. Then, the rotationshaft 235 b may be provided on the left side relative to the center ofthe operation surface 213 or may be provided on the right side relativeto the center of the operation surface 213. For example, when it isassumed that the spherical controller 200 is to be held and operated bythe left hand, the rotation shaft 235 b may be provided on the left siderelative to the center of the operation surface 213 so as to make iteasier for the user to depress the right side of the operation surface213. For example, when it is assumed that the spherical controller 200is to be held and operated by the right hand, the rotation shaft 235 bmay be provided on the right side relative to the center of theoperation surface 213 so as to make it easier for the user to depressthe left side of the operation surface 213.

Note that there is no limitation on the configuration for detecting theoperation surface 213 being depressed, and it is not limited to that ofthe exemplary embodiment. For example, in other embodiments, the key topand the key rubber may be integral together by an elastic material, forexample. In other embodiments, the spherical controller 200 may includeno key top and no key rubber, in which case the contact 237 a of thesub-substrate 237 may be provided at such a position that the operationsurface 213 depressed directly comes into contact with the contact 237a. In other embodiments, the spherical controller 200 may include amovable portion that can move in parallel to the up-down direction,instead of a movable portion that can pivot (i.e., the key top 235 andthe key rubber 236).

[2-2-2. Middle Unit]

FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 are exploded perspective views of an example of amiddle unit. FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the middle unitas seen from the upper front side, and FIG. 20 is an explodedperspective view of the middle unit as seen from the upper rear side.FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the example of the middle unit.FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section that passesthrough the center of the controller main body 201 and is perpendicularto the left-right direction.

(Middle Housing Part)

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, a middle unit 240 includes the middlehousing part 222. The middle housing part 222 has a ring shape with aportion at the rear end thereof cut off. Specifically, the middlehousing part 222 includes a front surface portion 241, a leftband-shaped portion 242 and a right band-shaped portion 243.

The front surface portion 241 is provided in the front end portion ofthe middle housing part 222. The front surface portion 241 includes aflat surface portion on the front side. The front side surface of thefront surface portion 241 is the front end surface (i.e., the flatsurface of the front end portion of the housing 211). The opening 211 adescribed above is provided in the front end surface of the frontsurface portion 241. Therefore, it can be said that the front surfaceportion 241 is an annular portion surrounding the opening 211 a. In theexemplary embodiment, the front end surface has a circular shape. Notehowever that in other embodiments, there is no limitation on the shapeof the front end surface, and it may be a quadrilateral shape, forexample.

As shown in FIG. 20, the front surface portion 241 includes anattachment portion 241 a, on the upper side of the front end surface,that extends toward the inside of the housing 211. The attachmentportion 241 a is provided with a hole for receiving therethrough a screwfor securing the main substrate support portion to be described later onthe middle housing part 222.

The two band-shaped portions 242 and 243 are provided so as to extendfrom the left and right ends of the front surface portion 241. That is,the left band-shaped portion 242 is band-shaped and is provided so as toextend from the left end of the front surface portion 241. In otherwords, the left band-shaped portion 242 extends from the front surfaceportion 241 to the left input direction of the joystick 212. The rightband-shaped portion 243 is band-shaped and is provided so as to extendfrom the right end of the front surface portion 241. In other words, theright band-shaped portion 243 extends from the front surface portion 241to the right input direction of the joystick 212. The band-shapedportions 242 and 243 each form a part of the spherical surface of thespherical housing 211. Specifically, the band-shaped portions 242 and243 are provided along the spherical zone defined by two planesperpendicular to the up-down direction running through the housing 211(i.e., a band-shaped portion of a spherical surface that is definedbetween two parallel planes running through the spherical surface). Notethat “the band-shaped portions provided along the spherical zone” meansto include embodiments where the surfaces of the band-shaped portionscoincide with the spherical zone and embodiments where the surfaces ofthe band-shaped portions do not coincide with the spherical zone in astrict sense. For example, in other embodiments, the surfaces of theband-shaped portions may not be spherical surfaces but may be curvedsurfaces similar to those of the side surface of a cylinder.

In the exemplary embodiment, the rear end of the left band-shapedportion 242 is not continuous with the rear end of the right band-shapedportion 243. The space defined between the rear end of the leftband-shaped portion 242 and the rear end of the right band-shapedportion 243 becomes the strap hole 211 c described above (FIG. 10), thedetails of which will be described later. Holes for receivingtherethrough screws for securing the main substrate support portion tobe described later on the middle housing part 222 are provided in theband-shaped portions 242 and 243 near the rear end thereof (see FIG. 19and FIG. 20).

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the right band-shaped portion 243includes a tab-receiving portion 243 a. Although not shown in thefigure, the left band-shaped portion 242 includes a tab-receivingportion similar to the tab-receiving portion 243 a of the rightband-shaped portion 243. When the middle housing part 222 and the lowerhousing part 223 are connected together, the tab of the lower housingpart 223 (i.e., a tab 273 e shown in FIG. 23) engages with thetab-receiving portion, the details of which will be described later.Note that while the tab-receiving portion is provided on the front siderelative to the center of the controller main body 201 in the exemplaryembodiment, there is no limitation on the position of the tab-receivingportion.

As shown in FIG. 19, the right band-shaped portion 243 includes a tab243 b. The tab 243 b is provided so as to extend upward from the rightband-shaped portion 243 and further extend toward the inside of thehousing 211. The left band-shaped portion 242 includes a tab similar tothe tab 243 b of the right band-shaped portion 243. The tab engages witha hole (i.e., a hole 257 c shown in FIG. 31) provided in a lightguide254, the details of which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 20, a hole 242 a is provided in the left band-shapedportion 242. In the exemplary embodiment, the hole 242 a is provided onthe rear side relative to the center of the controller main body 201.The hole 242 a is provided for exposing the reboot button 214 describedabove to the outside of the housing 211.

In the exemplary embodiment, the middle housing part 222 is made of amaterial that is harder than the outer surface portion 231 of the upperhousing part 221 (and the lower housing part 223). For example, thematerial of the middle housing part 222 is a resin that is harder thanthe outer surface portion 231 (herein, an elastomer). Therefore, in theexemplary embodiment, the housing 211 includes a first portion (i.e.,the middle housing part 222) that is provided surrounding the joystick212, and a second portion (i.e., the upper housing part 221 and thelower housing part 223) that is provided surrounding the first portionand whose surface is made of a material that is softer than the surfaceof the first portion. Then, a portion of the housing 211 that is aroundthe joystick 212 (i.e., the first portion) is made of a hard material.Therefore, when the user is operating the joystick 212, for example, itis possible to reduce the possibility that this portion is scratched orworn out by the finger of the user and/or the joystick 212, for example.

The middle housing part 222 is made of a black material, for example, asis the inner wall portion 232 of the upper housing part 221, so thatlight from the light-emitting section is prevented from passing throughthe middle housing part 222 as much as possible.

(Main Substrate Holding Portion)

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the middle unit 240 includes a mainsubstrate holding portion 245. The main substrate holding portion 245holds some components included in the middle unit 240 (e.g., arechargeable battery 244, a main substrate 246, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 21, the main substrate holding portion 245includes a frame portion 245 a to which the rechargeable battery 244 isattached. The frame portion 245 a is shaped so that the rechargeablebattery 244 can be accommodated inside the frame portion 245 a.Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the frame portion 245 aincludes four walls to be in contact with the side surfaces of therechargeable battery 244 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 21, the main substrate holding portion 245includes a stick attachment portion 245 b to which the joystick 212 isattached. The stick attachment portion 245 b is provided on the frontside of the frame portion 245 a. The front side surface of the stickattachment portion 245 b is a flat surface perpendicular to thefront-rear direction. A screw hole that is open on the front side isprovided in the front side flat surface of the stick attachment portion245 b. The screw hole is for attaching the joystick 212 to the mainsubstrate holding portion 245.

A screw hole that is open on the upper side is provided between theframe portion 245 a and the stick attachment portion 245 b (see FIG.19). The screw hole is for securing together the main substrate holdingportion 245 and the middle housing part 222.

As shown in FIG. 20, the main substrate holding portion 245 includes astrap attachment shaft 245 c to which the strap portion 202 is attached.The strap attachment shaft 245 c is provided on the rear side of theframe portion 245 a. The strap attachment shaft 245 c has a tubularshape extending in the up-down direction. The hole provided at thecenter of the strap attachment shaft 245 c is for receiving therethrougha screw for securing together the main substrate holding portion 245 andthe upper housing part 221, the details of which will be describedlater. As described above, the strap portion 202 can be attached to thecontroller main body 201 by passing the strap chord of the strap portion202 around the strap attachment shaft 245 c.

Note that on the rear side of the frame portion 245 a, screw holes thatare open on the upper side are provided on the opposite (left and right)sides of the strap attachment shaft 245 c (see FIG. 20). The screw holesare for securing together the main substrate holding portion 245 and themiddle housing part 222.

As shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, the main substrate holding portion 245has the recessed surface 245 d. The recessed surface 245 d is providedon the rear side of the frame portion 245 a and on the lower side of thestrap attachment shaft 245 c. In the exemplary embodiment, the recessedsurface 245 d is provided so as to be substantially perpendicular to thefront-rear direction. The recessed surface 245 d is provided with a holethrough which the charging terminal provided on the main substrate 246is exposed to the outside of the recessed surface 245 d (see FIG. 29),the details of which will be described later. The recessed surface 245 dis also provided with a hole for receiving therethrough a screw forsecuring together the main substrate holding portion 245 and the lowerhousing part 223 (see FIG. 26). Moreover, the recessed surface 245 d isprovided with an attachment hole (i.e., a hole 245 f shown in FIG. 29)for the attachment of the cover portion 215 described above (see FIG.10).

As shown in FIG. 20, the main substrate holding portion 245 includes adetection circuit attachment portion 245 e to which a button detectionsection 258 to be described later is attached. The detection circuitattachment portion 245 e is provided at a position on the outer surfaceof the frame portion 245 a that corresponds to the hole 242 a of themiddle housing part 222. The detection circuit attachment portion 245 eis provided at the rear left corner on the outer surface of the frameportion 245 a.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the main substrate holding portion 245is secured on the middle housing part 222. The main substrate holdingportion 245 is provided at such a position that the main substrateholding portion 245 is surrounded by the annular middle housing part222. In the exemplary embodiment, the main substrate holding portion 245and the middle housing part 222 are secured together by screws 261(three screws 261 in the exemplary embodiment). As described above,three screw holes that are open on the upper side are provided in themain substrate holding portion 245. The middle housing part 222 isprovided with holes at positions corresponding to the screw holes. Asshown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the middle housing part 222 and the mainsubstrate holding portion 245 are secured together by screwing thescrews 261 into the screw holes of the main substrate holding portion245 through the holes of the middle housing part 222.

(Rechargeable Battery)

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the middle unit 240 includes therechargeable battery 244. The rechargeable battery 244 supplies power tothe electronic components of the spherical controller 200. Therechargeable battery 244 is electrically connected to the main substrate246 to be described later. The rechargeable battery 244 is provided inthe frame portion 245 a of the main substrate holding portion 245. Therechargeable battery 244 is secured on the frame portion 245 a by adouble-side tape, an adhesive, or the like, for example.

(Main Substrate)

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the middle unit 240 includes the mainsubstrate 246. In the exemplary embodiment, the main substrate 246 is aplate-shaped substrate. Note however that the main substrate 246 may bea flexible print circuit board that can be bent.

An acceleration sensor 247 is provided on the main substrate 246 (seeFIG. 19). The acceleration sensor 247 is an example of an inertia sensorand senses movement and rotation about three axis directions(specifically, the up-down direction, the left-right direction and thefront-rear direction). In other embodiments, a gyrosensor may beprovided as an example of an inertia sensor. The acceleration sensor 247is provided in the vicinity of the center of the upper surface of themain substrate 246 so that the acceleration sensor 247 is arranged inthe vicinity of the center of the controller main body 201 (see FIG. 19and FIG. 21), the details of which will be described later.

A light-emitting section for emitting light is provided on the mainsubstrate 246. In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200includes two light-emitting sections 248 a and 248 b (see FIG. 19).Specifically, the left light-emitting section 248 a is provided near theleft end of the upper surface of the main substrate 246, and the other,right light-emitting section 248 b is provided near the end of the uppersurface of the main substrate 246. Note that in the presentspecification, the left light-emitting section 248 a and the rightlight-emitting section 248 b may be referred to collectively as “thelight-emitting section 248”. In the exemplary embodiment, thelight-emitting sections 248 are each provided on the outer side of thejoystick 212 with respect to the left-right direction. That is, thelight-emitting sections 248 are provided at such positions that they donot overlap the joystick 212 as seen from the front-rear direction.

A charging terminal 249 is provided on the main substrate 246 (see FIG.20). The charging terminal 249 is a terminal for receiving power supplyfor charging the rechargeable battery 244 from outside the sphericalcontroller 200. In the exemplary embodiment, the charging terminal 249is provided at the rear end of the lower surface of the main substrate246. The charging terminal 249 is provided so that the rear end of thecharging terminal 249 protrudes from the rear end of the main substrate246.

Although not shown in the figures, a control section (in other words, aprocessor) for controlling the operation of the spherical controller 200is provided on the main substrate 246. Holes for receiving therethroughscrews for securing the main substrate 246 on the main substrate holdingportion 245 are provided in the main substrate 246 (see FIG. 19 and FIG.20).

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the main substrate 246 is provided onthe lower side of the main substrate holding portion 245. In theexemplary embodiment, the main substrate 246 and the main substrateholding portion 245 are secured together by screws 262 (three screws 262in the exemplary embodiment). Specifically, screw holes that are open onthe lower side are provided on the lower side of the main substrateholding portion 245. As described above, holes are provided in the mainsubstrate 246 at positions corresponding to the screw holes. As shown inFIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the screws 262 are screwed into the screw holes ofthe main substrate holding portion 245 through the holes of the mainsubstrate 246, thereby securing together the main substrate 246 and themain substrate holding portion 245.

As shown in FIG. 21, with the main substrate 246 secured on the mainsubstrate holding portion 245, the charging terminal 249 is exposedthrough the hole in the recessed surface 245 d of the main substrateholding portion 245. As shown in FIG. 21, the rear end of the chargingterminal 249 is provided so as not to protrude past the recessed surface245 d (i.e., on the front side relative to the recessed surface 245 d).

(Joystick)

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the middle unit 240 includes thejoystick 212 described above. The joystick 212 includes a base portion251 and the shaft portion 252. The base portion 251 has a rectangularparallelepiped shape, and the shaft portion 252 is provided on the frontside of the base portion 251. As shown in FIG. 21, the shaft portion 252includes a rod-shaped portion 252 a and the tip portion 252 b.Specifically, the rod-shaped portion 252 a has a rod-like shapeextending in the front-rear direction, and is connected to the baseportion 251 on the rear end. The tip portion 252 b has a disc shape andis provided on the front end of the rod-shaped portion 252 a. The frontside surface of the tip portion 252 b is the operation surface of thejoystick 212 (i.e., the operation surface 252 c shown in FIG. 13). Notethat while the shaft portion 252 is not operated, the tip portion 252 bis arranged so that the operation surface is substantially perpendicularto the front-rear direction. The shaft portion 252 is provided so thatthe shaft portion 252 can be tilted with respect to the base portion 251in response to a tilt operation by the user. The shaft portion 252 isprovided so that the shaft portion 252 can move in response to thepush-in operation by the user. Note that the configuration of thejoystick 212 may be similar to those of conventional analog stick units.

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the joystick 212 is provided on thefront side of the main substrate holding portion 245. Specifically, thejoystick 212 is attached to the stick attachment portion 245 b of themain substrate holding portion 245. In the exemplary embodiment, thejoystick 212 and the main substrate holding portion 245 are securedtogether by screws 263 (two screws 263 in the exemplary embodiment). Asdescribed above, screw holes that are open on the front side areprovided in the stick attachment portion 245 b. Holes are provided inthe base portion 251 of the joystick 212 at positions corresponding tothe screw holes. As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the screws 263 arescrewed into the screw holes of the stick attachment portion 245 bthrough the holes of the base portion 251, thereby securing together thejoystick 212 and the main substrate holding portion 245.

In the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 is attached in such anorientation that the rear surface of the base portion 251 opposes thestick attachment portion 245 b. Therefore, the joystick 212 is providedso that the shaft portion 252 (specifically, the axial direction of theshaft portion 252 or the operation surface of the tip portion 252 b) isfacing in the front direction as shown in FIG. 19. The joystick 212 isprovided so that the rod-shaped portion 252 a is substantially parallelto the front-rear direction while the shaft portion 252 is not beingoperated (see FIG. 21).

As described above, the shaft portion 252 of the joystick 212 isprovided so as to be oriented substantially toward the center of thehousing 211 while the shaft portion 252 is not being operated. Then, itis easy for the user to apply force on the joystick 212, making iteasier for the user to operate the joystick 212. Moreover, in theexemplary embodiment, the shaft portion 252 of the joystick 212 iscapable of being depressed along the axial direction of the shaftportion 252. Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, it is made easy toperform the operation of depressing the shaft portion 252, in additionto the direction input operation. That is, it is possible to improve theoperability of the joystick 212.

(Lightguide, etc.)

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the middle unit 240 includes areflective portion 253, the lightguide 254 and a diffusion sheet 255.These members 253 to 255 are for guiding light emitted from thelight-emitting section 248 to output the light through the opening 211 aof the housing 211.

The lightguide 254 is made of a transparent material, and functions as alightguide that receives light emitted from the light-emitting section248 on the light-receiving surface to output the light having passedthrough the inside of the lightguide 254 from the light-exiting surface.Specifically, the lightguide 254 includes a plate-shaped surroundingportion 256 with a hole provided at the center. The surrounding portion256 is provided surrounding the joystick 212. In the exemplaryembodiment, the front surface of the surrounding portion 256 functionsas the light-exiting surface. The lightguide 254 includes two extendedportions 257. The left extended portion 257 a is provided so as toextend from the left end of the surrounding portion 256, and the otherright extended portion 257 b is provided so as to extend from the rightend of the surrounding portion 256. Note that in the presentspecification, the left extended portion 257 a and the right extendedportion 257 b may be referred to collectively as “the extended portion257”. The tips of the extended portions 257 extended from thesurrounding portion 256 each function as a light-receiving surface. Notethat the lightguide 254 will be described in detail in “[2-3.Configuration Related to Light Emission]” Below.

The reflective portion 253 has an annular shape, and is made of a whitematerial. The reflective portion 253 is provided on the rear side of thesurrounding portion 256 of the lightguide 254 (in other words, thereverse side of the light-exiting surface) so as to reflect light outputfrom the reverse side of the light-exiting surface so that more light isoutput from the light-exiting surface, the details of which will bedescribed later. In the exemplary embodiment, the reflective portion 253is made of a microcell polymer sheet, and functions also as a shockabsorber.

The diffusion sheet 255 is made of a translucent sheet material, and hasa property of diffusing light that passes through the diffusion sheet255. Note that the diffusion sheet 255 is a thin sheet, and thediffusion sheet 255 is not shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 21.The diffusion sheet 255 diffuses light output from the light-exitingsurface of the lightguide 254 to output the diffused light forward. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the diffusion sheet 255 has an annular shape.The diffusion sheet 255 is provided surrounding the hole provided in thelight-exiting surface of the lightguide 254.

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the reflective portion 253, thelightguide 254 and the diffusion sheet 255 are provided on the frontside of the base portion 251 of the joystick 212. Specifically, thereflective portion 253 is provided in front of the base portion 251, thesurrounding portion 256 of the lightguide 254 is provided in front ofthe reflective portion 253, and the diffusion sheet 255 is provided infront of the surrounding portion 256. As shown in FIG. 21, thereflective portion 253, the surrounding portion 256 and the diffusionsheet 255 is secured sandwiched between the base portion 251 and thefront surface portion 241 of the middle housing part 222. Therefore, thereflective portion 253 and the surrounding portion 256 are in contactwith each other, and the surrounding portion 256 and the diffusion sheet255 are in contact with each other.

The reflective portion 253, the surrounding portion 256 and thediffusion sheet 255 are each arranged so that the shaft portion 252passes through the hole provided therein. Thus, the reflective portion253, the surrounding portion 256 and the diffusion sheet 255 areprovided surrounding the shaft portion 252. In the exemplary embodiment,the diffusion sheet 255 provided surrounding the shaft portion 252 (andthe surrounding portion 256 and the reflective portion 253 rearwardthereof) is visually recognizable through the opening 211 a, as thecontroller main body 201 is seen from the front side, the details ofwhich will be described later.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the surrounding portion 256 (thissimilarly applies also to the reflective portion 253 and the diffusionsheet 255) is provided extending along the entire circumference of thejoystick 212. Herein, in other embodiments, the surrounding portion 256does not need to be provided so as to completely surround the entirecircumference of the joystick 212. For example, in other embodiments,the surrounding portion 256 (this similarly applies also to thereflective portion 253 and the diffusion sheet 255) may have an annularshape with a portion thereof cut off.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing an example of a positionalrelationship between the middle housing part, the lightguide and themain substrate. Note that FIG. 22 does not show a part of the middlehousing part for the purpose of making it easier to see the positionalrelationship between these components. As shown in FIG. 22, thelight-receiving surface at the tip of the right extended portion 257 bof the lightguide 254 is provided in the vicinity of (specifically,directly above) the right light-emitting section 248 b provided on themain substrate 246. Similarly, the light-receiving surface at the tip ofthe left extended portion 257 a of the lightguide 254 is provided in thevicinity of (specifically, directly above) the left light-emittingsection 248 a provided on the main substrate 246.

As shown in FIG. 22, a hole 257 d is provided in the right extendedportion 257 b. With the lightguide 254 attached to the middle housingpart 222, the tab 243 b provided on the right band-shaped portion 243 ofthe middle housing part 222 engages with the hole 257 d. As with theright extended portion 257 b, a hole (the hole 257 c shown in FIG. 31 tobe discussed later) is provided also in the left extended portion 257 a.With the lightguide 254 attached to the middle housing part 222, the tabprovided on the left band-shaped portion 242 of the middle housing part222 engages with the hole. Thus, the lightguide 254 is provided so thattabs engage with the holes of the respective extended portions 257. Withthe tabs engaging with the holes, the lightguide 254 can be securedfirmly.

(Reboot Button)

As shown in FIG. 20, the middle unit 240 includes the reboot button 214described above. The reboot button 214 is made of an elastic materialsuch as a rubber, for example, and can deform in response to theoperation surface thereof being depressed. The reboot button 214 isprovided so that the operation surface thereof is exposed through thehole 242 a of the middle housing part 222 (see (f) of FIG. 10). Notethat in the exemplary embodiment, the reboot button 214 is provided sothat the operation surface thereof is recessed from the surface of themiddle housing part 222.

The middle unit 240 includes the button detection section 258 fordetecting a depressing operation on the reboot button 214. Although notshown in the figures, the button detection section 258 is provided witha contact for detecting an operation on the reboot button 214, and adetection circuit for detecting the reboot button 214 coming intocontact with the contact. The button detection section 258 is attachedto the detection circuit attachment portion 245 e of the main substrateholding portion 245.

The button detection section 258 is provided on the inner side of thereboot button 214. Specifically, the button detection section 258 isarranged so that the contact is located on the reverse side from theoperation surface of the reboot button 214. Therefore, when the rebootbutton 214 deforms in response to a depressing operation on the rebootbutton 214, a portion of the reboot button 214 comes into contact withthe contact of the button detection section 258. The detection circuitof the button detection section 258 detects the reboot button 214 cominginto contact with the contact. Although not shown in the figures, thedetection circuit of the button detection section 258 is electricallyconnected to the main substrate 246.

(Cover Portion)

As shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the middle unit 240 includes the coverportion 215 described above. In the exemplary embodiment, as is theouter surface portion of the upper housing part 221 and the lowerhousing part 223, the cover portion 215 is made of a material (e.g., anelastomer similar to that of the outer surface portion) that is softerthan the middle housing part 222.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the cover portion 215 includes asurface which forms a part of a spherical shape, and a rod-shapedportion 259 provided on the reverse side of the surface. When the coverportion 215 is attached to the main substrate holding portion 245, therod-shaped portion 259 is inserted into the attachment hole (i.e., thehole 245 f shown in FIG. 29) provided in the recessed surface 245 d ofthe main substrate holding portion 245. Note that the tip portion of therod-shaped portion 259 is slightly thicker than the other portion otherthan the tip portion. Therefore, the rod-shaped portion 259 having beeninserted in the attachment hole does not come off the attachment holewith a force that is not so strong. The cover portion 215 is attached soas to cover the recessed surface 245 d with the rod-shaped portion 259inserted in the attachment hole.

[2-2-3. Lower Unit]

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a lower unit.FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of a lower unit 270 as seen fromthe upper front side.

(Lower Housing Part)

As shown in FIG. 23, the lower unit 270 includes the lower housing part223. As described above, the lower housing part 223 has a hemisphericalshape as does the upper housing part 221. As shown in FIG. 23, the lowerhousing part 223 is open on the upper side and does not have a surfacethat corresponds to the bottom surface of the hemisphere. Therefore, itcan also be said that the lower housing part 223 has a hemisphericalsurface shape. It can also be said that the lower housing part 223 has aspherical cap shape as does the upper housing part 221.

As shown in FIG. 23, in the exemplary embodiment, the lower housing part223 has a hemispherical shape with a front end portion thereof cut off.Specifically, the lower housing part 223 has a hemispherical shape witha front end portion thereof cut off along a plane that is perpendicularto the front-rear direction. That is, the lower housing part 223 has anedge 223 a that is the circumference of the bottom surface of thehemisphere, and an edge 223 b that is produced by cutting off the frontend portion of the hemispherical surface along the plane describedabove. The edge 223 b defines a shape that appears to be semicircular asthe lower housing part 223 is seen from the front side. Note that theshape of the cutout of the lower housing part 223 is a shapecorresponding to the shape of the front end surface described above ofthe middle housing part 222 (specifically, a shape that substantiallycoincides with the lower edge of the front end surface), andspecifically the shape is semicircular. Note however that there is nolimitation on the shape of the cutout, and the shape may be any shapeother than semicircular in other embodiments.

The lower housing part 223 has a hemispherical shape with a rear endportion thereof cut off as well as a front end portion thereof.Therefore, the lower housing part 223 has an edge 223 c that is producedby cutting off the rear end portion. The shape of the cutout of the rearend portion substantially coincides with the shape of the surface of thecover portion 215. That is, the cover portion 215 is provided so as tocover the cutout portion of the rear end of the lower housing part 223.

As shown in FIG. 23, the lower housing part 223 includes the outersurface portion 272 and an inner wall portion 273, as does the upperhousing part 221. The outer surface portion 272 is a component thatforms the outer surface of the lower housing part 223. The inner wallportion 273 is a component that forms the inner wall of the lowerhousing part 223. The outer surface portion 272 and the inner wallportion 273 each have a hemispherical shape similar to the lower housingpart 223, and each have a hemispherical shape with a front end portionthereof and a rear end portion thereof cut off as does the lower housingpart 223. The inner wall portion 273 is connected to the inner side ofthe outer surface portion 272. For example, the inner wall portion 273is attached to the inner side of the outer surface portion 272 via anadhesive. Note that the inner wall portion 273 is sized so that theouter surface of the inner wall portion 273 coincides with the innersurface of the outer surface portion 272.

The outer surface portion 272 of the lower housing part 223 is made ofan elastic material that is softer than the middle housing part 222 andthe inner wall portion 273 (e.g., an elastomer) as is the outer surfaceportion 231 of the upper housing part 221. The inner wall portion 273 ofthe lower housing part 223 is made of a material that is harder than theouter surface portion 272 (e.g., a resin) as is the inner wall portion232 of the upper housing part 221.

As is the inner wall portion 232 of the upper housing part 221, theinner wall portion 273 is made of a black material, for example, so asto prevent light from the light-emitting section 248 from passingthrough the inner wall portion 273 as much as possible.

As shown in FIG. 23, the inner wall portion 273 is provided with ribs273 a. The ribs 273 a are provided so as to protrude relative to theinner wall of the spherical surface of the lower housing part 223. Notethat the ribs 273 a are provided so as not to come into contact with avibrating section 271 (in other words, so as to avoid the position ofthe vibrating section 271). Note that there is no limitation on theposition and the number of the ribs 273 a. With the provision of theribs 273 a, the mechanical strength (in other words, rigidity) of thelower housing part 223 can be improved.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the number of ribs provided onthe inner wall of the upper housing part 221 is smaller than the numberof ribs provided on the inner wall of the lower housing part 223 (thismeans to include embodiments where there are no ribs on the inner wallof the upper housing part 221). For the upper housing part 221, thesub-substrate 237 and the sub-substrate holding portion 238 may besecured on the upper housing part 221, thereby improving the mechanicalstrength of the upper housing part 221. That is, in the exemplaryembodiment, by providing fewer ribs on the upper housing part 221 thanon the lower housing part 223, more components can be accommodatedtherein, and the components accommodated therein (i.e., thesub-substrate 237 and the sub-substrate holding portion 238) can besecured on the upper housing part 221, thereby improving the mechanicalstrength.

As shown in FIG. 23, vibrating section attachment portions 273 b areprovided on the inner wall portion 273. Note that while FIG. 23 onlyshows two vibrating section attachment portions 273 b, four vibratingsection attachment portions 273 b are provided on the inner wall portion273. The vibrating section attachment portions 273 b each have a screwhole that is open on the upper side. The screw hole is a screw hole forattaching the vibrating section 271 to be described later to the lowerhousing part 223.

As shown in FIG. 23, a housing attachment portion 273 c is provided onthe inner wall portion 273. The housing attachment portion 273 cincludes two screw holes running therethrough in the front-reardirection. The screw holes are screw holes for attaching the lowerhousing part 223 (in other words, the lower unit 270) to the mainsubstrate holding portion 245 (in other words, the middle unit 240).

As shown in FIG. 23, projecting tabs 273 d are provided on the innerwall portion 273. The projecting tabs 273 d are provided so as toprotrude upward relative to the edge 223 a of the lower housing part223. In the exemplary embodiment, the projecting tabs 273 d areprovided, one on a rear right portion and another one on a rear leftportion of the edge of the lower housing part 223. When the middlehousing part 222 and the lower housing part 223 are connected together,the projecting tabs 273 d engage with the middle housing part 222, thedetails of which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 23, the tab 273 e is provided on the inner wall portion273. The tab 273 e is provided so as not to protrude relative to theedge 223 a of the lower housing part 223. The tab 273 e is provided on afront right portion of the lower housing part 223. Although not shown inthe figures, a tab similar to the tab 273 e is provided also on a frontleft portion of the lower housing part 223. When the middle housing part222 and the lower housing part 223 are connected together, the tab 273 eengages with the tab-receiving portion 243 a of the middle housing part222 (see FIG. 19), the details of which will be described later.

(Vibrating Section)

As shown in FIG. 23, the lower unit 270 includes the vibrating section271. The vibrating section 271 is a vibrator for generating a vibrationto vibrate the housing 211. Note that although not shown in the figures,the vibrating section 271 is electrically connected to the mainsubstrate 246 (more specifically, the control section provided on themain substrate 246).

In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271 is a voice coilmotor. That is, the vibrating section 271 can generate a vibration inresponse to a signal input thereto, and can also generate a sound inresponse to the signal. For example, when a signal of a frequency in theaudible range is input to the vibrating section 271, the vibratingsection 271 generates a sound (i.e., audible sound) as well as avibration. For example, when a sound signal representing a voice (or asound) of a character appearing in the game, the vibrating section 271outputs the voice (or the sound) of the character. When a signal of afrequency outside the audible range is input to the vibrating section271, the vibrating section 271 generates a vibration. Note that a signalinput to the vibrating section 271 can be said to be a signalrepresenting the wavelength of the vibration to be generated from thevibrating section 271, and can be said to be a sound signal representingthe wavelength of the sound to be output from the vibrating section 271.The signal input to the vibrating section 271 may be a vibration signalintended to cause the vibrating section 271 to generate a vibration ofan intended waveform, or may be a sound signal intended to cause thevibrating section 271 to output an intended sound. As described above,since the vibrating section 271 can output a vibration and a sound inthe exemplary embodiment, it is possible to output a vibration and asound from the spherical controller 200, and to simplify the internalconfiguration of the controller main body 201.

As shown in FIG. 23, the vibrating section 271 has a cylindrical outershape. Since a cylindrical vibrating section is arranged in thespherical housing 211 in the exemplary embodiment, it is possible toefficiently use the space inside the housing 211. Generally, as thevibrating section 271 is larger, it is possible to generate a strongervibration, and it is therefore easier to arrange a vibrating sectioncapable of generating a strong vibration according to the exemplaryembodiment.

In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271 includesprotruding portions 271 a protruding from the side surface of thecylindrical vibrating section 271. In the exemplary embodiment, the fourprotruding portions 271 a are provided on the upper end of the sidesurface of the vibrating section 271. The protruding portions 271 a eachprotrude in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction from theside surface of the vibrating section 271. The protruding portions 271 aeach include a hole therein for receiving therethrough a screw forsecuring the vibrating section 271 on the lower housing part 223 (seeFIG. 23).

As shown in FIG. 23, the vibrating section 271 is attached to the innerside of the lower housing part 223. In the exemplary embodiment, thevibrating section 271 and the lower housing part 223 are securedtogether via screws 274 (four screws 274 in the exemplary embodiment).As described above, four screw holes that are open on the upper side areprovided in the vibrating section attachment portions 273 b of the lowerhousing part 223. The protruding portions 271 a of the vibrating section271 have holes therein at positions corresponding to the screw holes. Asshown in FIG. 23, the screws 274 are screwed into the screw holes of thelower housing part 223 through the holes of the vibrating section 271,thereby securing together the vibrating section 271 and the lowerhousing part 223. In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271is provided in an orientation such that the central axis of the cylinder(in other words, the central axis of the vibrating section 271) issubstantially parallel to the up-down direction. In the exemplaryembodiment, the vibrating section 271 is provided in an orientation suchthat the vibrating direction thereof is substantially parallel to theup-down direction.

In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271 is in contactwith the lower housing part 223 only via the protruding portions 271 awhich are screwed to the lower housing part 223. That is, the bottomsurface and the side surface of the cylindrical vibrating section 271are not in contact with the lower housing part 223. By limiting theportions where the vibrating section 271 is in contact with the lowerhousing part 223, it is possible to reduce variations (i.e., variationsbetween individual products) of the vibration property when thevibration from the vibrating section 271 is transmitted to the lowerhousing part 223.

In the exemplary embodiment, the four connecting portions (i.e., thefour protruding portions 271 a) between the vibrating section 271 andthe lower housing part 223 are arranged substantially in symmetry withrespect to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Thatis, the four connecting portions are arranged substantially in symmetrywith respect to the axis that passes through the center of the fourconnecting portions and is parallel to the left-right direction. Thefour connecting portions are arranged substantially in symmetry withrespect to the axis that passes through the center of the fourconnecting portions and is parallel to the front-rear direction. Then,the vibration from the vibrating section 271 can be transmitted to thehousing 211 in a well-balanced manner.

[2-2-4. Connection Between Units]

The controller main body 201 is obtained by connecting together theupper unit 230, the middle unit 240 and the lower unit 270 describedabove.

FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view of an example of the upper unit230 and an example of the middle unit 240. As shown in FIG. 24, theupper unit 230 and the middle unit 240 are secured together by screws281 (three screws 281 in the exemplary embodiment). Specifically, threescrew holes that are open on the lower side are provided on the innersurface of the upper housing part 221 (specifically, the inner wallportion 232) of the upper unit 230 (see FIG. 16). Three holes areprovided in the main substrate holding portion 245 of the middle unit240 at positions corresponding to the three screw holes (see FIG. 19).Specifically, one hole is provided on the left side of the frame portion245 a and one hole is provided on the right side thereof, and anotherhole is provided in the strap attachment shaft 245 c (see FIG. 19). Asshown in FIG. 24, the screws 281 are screwed to into the screw holes ofthe upper housing part 221 through the holes of the main substrateholding portion 245, thereby securing together the upper unit 230 andthe middle unit 240.

Note that when the upper unit 230 and the middle unit 240 are connectedtogether, the edge 221 a of the upper housing part 221 is in contactwith the band-shaped portions 242 and 243 of the middle housing part222, and the edge 221 b of the upper housing part 221 is in contact withthe upper edge of the front surface portion 241 of the middle housingpart 222. Thus, the upper housing part 221 and the middle housing part222 are connected together so that there is substantially no gaptherebetween. Note however that since the rear end of the leftband-shaped portion 242 and the rear end of the right band-shapedportion 243 of the middle housing part 222 are not continuous with eachother, the rear end portion of the upper housing part 221 is not incontact with the middle housing part 222.

FIG. 25 and FIG. 26 are exploded perspective views showing an example ofthe controller main body 201. FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing anupper-middle unit 290 that includes the upper unit 230 and the middleunit 240 connected together, and the lower unit 270, as seen from thelower front side. On the other hand, FIG. 26 shows the upper-middle unit290 as seen from the lower front side, and the lower unit 270 as seenfrom the upper front side.

As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the lower unit 270 is further connectedto the upper-middle unit 290 that includes the upper unit 230 and themiddle unit 240 connected together. In the exemplary embodiment, thelower unit 270 is connected to the upper-middle unit 290 via tabs andscrews.

As described above, four tabs (i.e., the two projecting tabs 273 d andthe two tabs 273 e) are provided on the lower housing part 223. Thesetabs engage with the middle housing part 222. Specifically, theprojecting tabs 273 d engage with the inner side of the band-shapedportions 242 and 243 of the middle housing part 222. The tab 273 eengages with the tab-receiving portion 243 a of the middle housing part222 (see FIG. 19). Thus, the lower housing part 223 and the middlehousing part 222 are secured together.

As shown in FIG. 26, the upper-middle unit 290 and the lower unit 270are secured together by screws 282. Specifically, the housing attachmentportion 273 c of the lower unit has two screw holes running therethroughin the front-rear direction. The recessed surface 245 d of the mainsubstrate holding portion 245 included in the upper-middle unit 290 hastwo holes at positions corresponding to the two screw holes. As shown inFIG. 26, the screws 282 are screwed into the screw holes of the lowerhousing part 223 through the holes of the recessed surface 245 d,thereby securing together the upper-middle unit 290 and the lower unit270.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, when the upper-middle unit 290and the lower unit 270 are connected together, the edge 223 a of thelower housing part 223 is in contact with the band-shaped portions 242and 243 of the middle housing part 222, and the edge 223 b of the lowerhousing part 223 is in contact with the lower edge of the front surfaceportion 241 of the middle housing part 222 (see FIG. 25). Thus, thelower housing part 223 and the middle housing part 222 are connectedtogether with substantially no gap therebetween. Note however that sincethe rear end of the left band-shaped portion 242 and the rear end of theright band-shaped portion 243 of the middle housing part 222 are notcontinuous with each other, the rear end portion of the lower housingpart 223 is not in contact with the middle housing part 222. In theexemplary embodiment, the rear end of the left band-shaped portion 242and the rear end of the right band-shaped portion 243 of the middlehousing part 222, the upper housing part 221 and the lower housing part223 together provide a hole at the rear end of the housing 211. Thishole serves as the strap hole 211 c described above (see FIG. 10).

While the exemplary embodiment is directed to a case where thecomponents of the controller main body 201 are connected together viascrews, tabs, etc., there is no limitation on the method for connectingthe components together. There is no limitation on the positions and thenumber of screws used for connecting (in other words, securing) thecomponents together.

[2-2-5. Internal Arrangement]

(Regarding Arrangement of Antenna)

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a controller mainbody. FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section thatpasses through the center of the controller main body 201 and isperpendicular to the left-right direction. As described above, theantenna 291 is provided on the sub-substrate 237. In the exemplaryembodiment, the antenna 291 is arranged above the center C of thehousing 211 and on the front side relative to the center C (see FIG.27).

As shown in FIG. 27, in the exemplary embodiment, the position of theantenna 291 is between the center C of the housing 211 and the operationsurface 213. More specifically, the position of the antenna 291 withrespect to the direction (i.e., up-down direction) parallel to thestraight line (i.e., the straight line L3 shown in FIG. 13) that passesthrough the center C of the housing 211 and the operation surface 213 isbetween the position of the center C of the housing 211 with respect tothe direction (i.e., the y-axis coordinate of the center C) and theposition of the operation surface 213 with respect to the direction(i.e., the y-axis coordinate of the operation surface 213). In otherwords, in the exemplary embodiment, the antenna 291 is provided on the“up input direction” side relative to the center C of the housing 211,and the operation surface 213 is provided on the “up input direction”side relative to the antenna 291. When the antenna 291 is arranged atsuch a position as described above, the finger operating the operationsurface 213 is unlikely to interfere with the communication by theantenna 291, improving the communication ability of the sphericalcontroller 200 using the antenna 291.

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes anelectronic substrate (i.e., the sub-substrate 237) that carries thereonthe contact 237 a for detecting a depressing operation on the operationsurface 213 and the antenna 291. By using a common substrate for thecontact 237 a and the antenna 291, it is possible to more efficientlyarrange components in the housing 211 and to reduce the weight and thespace of the spherical controller 200. According to the descriptionabove, the antenna 291 can be arranged below the operation surface 213with some distance from the operation surface 213. Therefore, the fingeroperating the operation surface 213 is unlikely to interfere with thecommunication by the antenna 291, improving the communication ability ofthe spherical controller 200 using the antenna 291.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 is provided onthe hemispherical upper housing part 221, and the antenna 291 isprovided inside the upper housing part 221 (in other words, the firsthemispherical portion). Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, the antenna291 is provided in the housing part where the operation surface 213 isprovided. Then, the antenna 291 can be arranged on the same side in thespherical housing 211 as the operation surface 213. Thus, the fingeroperating the operation surface 213 is unlikely to interfere with thecommunication by the antenna 291, improving the communication ability ofthe spherical controller 200 using the antenna 291.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 is provided inthe upper end portion of the housing 211, the joystick 212 is providedin the front end portion of the housing 211, and the antenna 291 isprovided on the front side of and above the center C of the housing 211(see FIG. 27). In other words, the antenna 291 is provided on the sideof the joystick 212 relative to a plane (i.e., the plane P1 shown inFIG. 13) that contains the center C of the housing 211 and that isperpendicular to a straight line (i.e., the straight line L4 shown inFIG. 13) that passes through the center C and the opening 211 a. Thatis, the antenna 291 is provided on the same side (specifically, thefront side) of the joystick 212 with respect to the plane. Note that“the antenna 291 provided on the front side” means to includeembodiments where at least a portion of the antenna 291 is on the frontside.

Herein, assuming that the joystick 212 is operated with the thumb andthe operation surface 213 is operated with the index finger, no fingeris placed between the joystick 212 and the operation surface 213 on thesurface of the housing 211 as shown in FIG. 12. Therefore, by arrangingthe antenna 291 on the same side as the joystick 212 as described above,the antenna 291 can be arranged at a position where the finger isunlikely to be placed. Thus, fingers holding the spherical controller200 are unlikely to interfere with the communication by the antenna 291,improving the communication ability using the antenna 291.

In the exemplary embodiment, the antenna 291 is provided so that atleast a portion of the antenna 291 is inside a fan-shaped region havinga fan shape (i.e., the region R delimited by a one-dot-chain line inFIG. 27) of the circular region along a cross section that passesthrough the operation surface 213, the opening 211 a and the center C ofthe housing 211, wherein the fan shape is defined by a radius extendingbetween the operation surface 213 and the center C and another radiusextending between the opening 211 a and the center C, and the fan shapehas a central angle that is a minor angle. Thus, when at least a portionof the antenna 291 is arranged in this region, fingers holding thespherical controller 200 are unlikely to interfere with thecommunication by the antenna 291, improving the communication abilityusing the antenna 291.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 and theoperation surface 213 are arranged so that the central angle of the fanshape is 90°. In other words, the joystick 212 and the operation surface213 are arranged so that the straight line that passes through thejoystick 212 (in other words, the opening 211 a) and the center C of thehousing 211 is orthogonal to the straight line that passes through theoperation surface 213 and the center C. In other embodiments, thecentral angle of the fan shape does not need to be 90°. Even if thecentral angle of the fan shape is not 90°, the antenna 291 can bearranged so that at least a portion of the antenna 291 is included inthe fan-shaped region. Then, as in the exemplary embodiment, fingersholding the spherical controller 200 are unlikely to interfere with thecommunication by the antenna 291.

(Regarding Configuration of Operation Surface)

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes an operation section having the operationsurface 213 that is integral with the surface of the housing 211. Then,since it is possible to eliminate the gap between the operation surface213 and the rest of the housing 211 other than the operation surface213, the shape of the controller main body 201 as seen from outside canbe made closer to a sphere. Thus, it is possible to improve the feel ofholding the controller main body 201. It is also possible to reduce thepossibility that the operation surface 213 is operated inadvertentlybecause something gets caught on the operation surface 213.

Note that “the operation surface is integral with the surface of thehousing” means to include embodiments where there is a groove (i.e., theindication 211 b) between the operation surface and the surface of thehousing, as in the exemplary embodiment. Note that there is nolimitation on the depth and the width of the groove. Moreover, “theoperation surface is integral with the surface of the housing” meansthat at least a portion of the operation surface is integral with thesurface of the housing. For example, while the entire circumference ofthe operation surface 213 is formed continuously on the surface of thehousing 211 in the exemplary embodiment, only a portion of thecircumference of the operation surface 213 may be formed continuously onthe surface of the housing 211 in other embodiments. Therefore, whenthere is a cutout between a portion of the circumference of theoperation surface 213 and the surface of the housing 211 so that theyare not continuous, and the other portion of the circumference of theoperation surface 213 and the surface of the housing 211 are integraltogether (in other words, continuous with each other), for example, itcan be said that the “operation surface is integral with the surface ofthe housing”.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface213 and the surface of the housing 211 (i.e., the outer surface portion231) are made of an elastic material. The housing 211 also includes theinner wall portion 232 that is provided on the inner side of the surfacemade of an elastic material and that is harder than the elasticmaterial. According to the description above, the operation surface 213that is integral with the surface of the housing 211 is capable of beingdepressed. According to the description above, with the provision of theinner wall portion, it is possible to prevent a portion of the housing211 other than the operation surface 213 from deforming significantlywhen the user holds the housing 211 with a normal force. Note that inthe exemplary embodiment, the surface of the upper housing part 221 andthe lower housing part 223 is made of an elastic material. Note howeverthat in other embodiments, only a portion of the surface of the housing211 that is around the operation surface 213 may be made of an elasticmaterial.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation section including theoperation surface 213 includes a movable portion (specifically, the keytop 235). The spherical controller 200 also includes a detection section(specifically, a detection circuit 322). The movable portion is coveredby the housing 211 and the operation surface 213, and can move inresponse to the operation surface 213 being depressed. The detectionsection detects an operation performed on the operation surface 213 inresponse to the movement of the movable portion. According to thedescription above, the spherical controller 200 can detect, with asimple configuration, the operation surface being depressed.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface 213 has a surfacewhich forms a part of a spherical shape. Specifically, the operationsurface 213 has a surface which forms a part of a spherical shape whoseradius is substantially equal to the radius of the housing 211.Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 and theoperation surface 213 together form one spherical surface. Note that itcan be said that the operation surface 213 is provided along the surfaceof the housing 211. According to the exemplary embodiment, the shape ofthe controller main body 201 as seen from outside can be made closer toa sphere. Note that the operation surface 213 may be (a) such that thehousing 211 and the operation surface 213 are integral with each otheras in the exemplary embodiment, or (b) such that the housing and theoperation surface are separate from each other as opposed to theexemplary embodiment. For example, even when the operation surfaceseparate from the housing defines the spherical surface of the samesphere as the surface of the housing, the shape of the controller mainbody 201 as seen from outside can be made closer to a sphere as in theexemplary embodiment.

Note that in other embodiments, the operation surface 213 may beprovided so as to protrude relative to the surface of the housing 211.Then, the position of the operation surface can be made easier to seefor the user. Note that even in such a case, it can be said that thecontroller main body 201 as a whole is spherical.

In other embodiments, the operation surface 213 may be separate from thehousing 211. For example, the operation surface may be a part of anoperation button that is separate from the housing 211. Specifically,the housing 211 may be provided with a button hole different from theopening 211 a so that the operation surface (in other words, theoperation button) is exposed through the button hole. Then, the positionof the operation button can be made easier to see for the user. Notethat in such a case, the operation surface may be provided along thehousing 211, may be provided so as to protrude relative to the housing211, or may be provided so as to be depressed relative to the housing211.

In the exemplary embodiment, the area of the operation surface 213 islarger than the area of the operation surface 252 c of the joystick 212.Then, it is made easier for the user to push the operation surface 213.Note that in other embodiments, there is no limitation on the size andshape of the operation surface 213, and it may be smaller than theoperation surface 252 c of the joystick 212.

(Regarding Arrangement of Joystick)

FIG. 28 is a diagram schematically showing the vicinity of a front endportion of an example of a spherical controller. Note that FIG. 28 is adiagram showing the vicinity of the front end portion of the sphericalcontroller 200 as seen from the left-right direction, schematicallyshowing the relationship between the joystick 212 and the housing 211and the opening 211 a. In FIG. 28, the shaft portion 252 shown by asolid line represents the shaft portion 252 while not being operated,and the shaft portion 252 shown by a dotted line represents the shaftportion 252 while being tilted to the limit.

As shown in FIG. 28, the housing 211 includes a spherical surface 211 dand a front end surface 211 e. The spherical surface 211 d is providedat a position at a predetermined distance (referred to as the “radialdistance”) from the center of the housing 211. The front end surface 211e is an opening surface having the opening 211 a. The joystick 212protrudes through the opening 211 a toward the outside of the housing211.

The front end surface 211 e is provided at a distance from the center ofthe housing 211 that is shorter than the radial distance describedabove. In other words, the front end surface 211 e is provided at aposition depressed relative to the reference spherical surface (in otherwords, at a position that is on the inner side of the referencespherical surface). Herein, the reference spherical surface is aspherical surface of a spherical region whose center is at the center ofthe housing 211 and whose radius is equal to the radial distancedescribed above (a one-dot-chain line shown in FIG. 28). That is, thespherical surface 211 d of the housing 211 is provided along thereference spherical surface, and the front end surface 211 e is providedso as to be depressed relative to the reference spherical surface.

According to the description above, the portion where the joystick 212is provided (i.e., the front end surface 211 e) can be provided at aposition that is closer to the center of the housing 211 than thespherical surface 211 d of the housing 211. Then, it is possible tosuppress the amount of protrusion of the joystick 212 relative to thereference spherical surface, and it is possible to make it easier forthe user to operate the joystick 212.

As shown in FIG. 28, in the exemplary embodiment, the tip portion 252 bof the joystick 212 is provided at a position that overlaps thereference spherical surface. In other words, the tip portion 252 b isprovided at such a position that the distance from the center of thehousing 211 is equal to the radial distance. Then, the operation surface252 c of the joystick 212 is provided at a position along the referencespherical surface (more specifically, at a position slightly on theouter side of the reference spherical surface).

According to the description above, although there is some variationbased on the thickness of the tip portion 252 b (e.g., 3 mm to 10 mm),the finger operating the joystick 212 is located substantially at thespherical surface. Therefore, the user can hold the spherical controller200, feeling as if the finger operating the joystick 212 were placed onthe spherical surface, making it even easier for the user to operate thejoystick 212.

As shown in FIG. 28, in the exemplary embodiment, the tip portion 252 bis located at a position that overlaps the reference spherical surfacewhether the joystick 212 is being operated or not. In other words, thetip portion 252 b is provided at such a position that the distance fromthe center of the housing 211 is equal to the radial distance whetherthe joystick 212 is being operated or not. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, irrespective of the tilt angle of the shaft portion 252within the movable range, the tip portion 252 b is located at a positionthat overlaps the reference spherical surface. Then, irrespective of thetilted state of the shaft portion 252, the user can operate the joystick212, feeling as if the finger operating the joystick 212 were placed onthe spherical surface. Thus, it is possible to further improve the feelof operating the joystick 212.

(Regarding Arrangement of Acceleration Sensor)

As shown in FIG. 27, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes an inertia sensor (e.g., the acceleration sensor247) provided in the vicinity of the center of the housing 211. Then,the inertia sensor can sense under equal conditions for the three axialdirections, i.e., the up-down direction, the left-right direction andthe front-rear direction. Thus, it is possible to improve the sensingaccuracy of the inertia sensor.

(Regarding Arrangement of Rechargeable Battery)

As shown in FIG. 27, in the exemplary embodiment, the rechargeablebattery 244 is provided inside the housing 211, specifically, at such aposition that the distance from the center C of the housing 211 to therechargeable battery 244 is shorter than the distance from the center ofthe housing 211 to the vibrating section 271. Thus, the rechargeablebattery 244 is provided in the vicinity of the center of the housing211. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the transmission of the shockfrom outside the controller main body 201 to the rechargeable battery244, thereby safely protecting the rechargeable battery 244.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the main substrate holdingportion 245 includes holes for receiving therethrough screws forconnecting the main substrate holding portion 245 to the middle housingpart 222 (see FIG. 19). Herein, these holes are provided on the outsideof the frame portion 245 a accommodating the rechargeable battery 244.Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to further reducethe transmission of the shock from outside the controller main body 201to the rechargeable battery 244.

(Regarding Arrangement of Vibrating Section)

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes thefollowing components.

the spherical housing 211.

the vibrating section 271 provided inside the housing 211 for generatinga vibration to vibrate the housing 211.

the inertia sensor (specifically, the acceleration sensor 247) providedinside the housing 211 at a position that is closer to the center of thespherical housing than the vibrating section.

the operation section having the operation surface 213 that is capableof being depressed and is provided at a position on the housing 211 onthe opposite side from the vibrating section 271 with respect to thecenter C of the housing 211 (specifically, on the opposite side from thevibrating section 271 in the housing 211 with respect to a plane (i.e.,the xz plane) that includes the center C and is perpendicular to thestraight line passing through the center C of the housing 211 and thevibrating section 271).

a transmission section (a communication section 323 to be describedlater) for transmitting, to outside, information regarding an operationon the operation section and information output from the inertia sensor.

Note that the “position on the opposite side from the vibrating section271 with respect to the center C of the housing 211” means a position onthe opposite side from the vibrating section 271 with respect to a plane(i.e., the xz plane) that includes the center of the housing 211 and isperpendicular to a straight line passing through the center of thevibrating section 271 and the center of the housing 211.

Note that in the above description, “(the inertia sensor) provided at aposition that is closer to the center of the spherical housing than thevibrating section” means that it is provided at such a position that thedistance from the center C of the housing 211 to the inertia sensor isshorter than the distance from the center C to the vibrating section271, and more specifically, it means that the distance from the lowerend of the inertia sensor to the center C of the housing 211 is shorterthan the distance from the upper end of the vibrating section 271 to thecenter C of the housing 211.

With the configuration above, by arranging the inertia sensor in thevicinity of the center of the housing 211, it is possible to improve thesensing accuracy of the inertia sensor as described above. By arrangingthe inertia sensor away from the vibrating section 271, the inertiasensor is unlikely to be influenced by the vibrations from the vibratingsection 271. Thus, it is possible to improve the sensing accuracy of theinertia sensor. By arranging the operation section and the vibratingsection 271 on the opposite side from each other with respect to thecenter of the housing 211, it is possible to make it more difficult forthe vibrations of the vibrating section 271 to be transmitted to theoperation section. Thus, operations on the operation section are lesslikely to be influenced by the vibrations, and it is possible to improvethe operability of the operation section.

In the exemplary embodiment, the “operation section” is a memberincluding a movable portion (specifically, the key top 235) that iscapable of moving in response to the operation surface 213 beingdepressed. That is, in the exemplary embodiment, the “operation section”is an input device including the movable portion. Note however that the“operation section” may be any input device. For example, in otherembodiments, the operation section may be an analog stick similar to thejoystick 212, a cross-shaped key, or a button that can be depressed.

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes, asthe operation section, a first input device including the key top 235,and a second input device (specifically, the joystick 212) in additionto the first input device. In other embodiments, the sphericalcontroller 200 may include the first input device but not the secondinput device. For example, in other embodiments, an opening (i.e., anopening similar to the opening 211 a) may be provided at the position ofthe operation surface 213 in the exemplary embodiment, and the joystick212 may be provided as the operation section so as to be exposed throughthe opening. Then, the spherical controller 200 does not need to includethe operation surface 213 and the key top 235.

When the spherical controller 200 includes the first input device as theoperation section, and the second input device, the first input deviceand the second input device may be input devices of the same type or maybe input devices of different types as in the exemplary embodiment. Forexample, in other embodiments, the spherical controller 200 may include,on the housing 211, the operation surface 213 described above, and asecond operation surface at a position different from the operationsurface 213. Then, the spherical controller 200 may include, as theoperation section, a first input device including the key top 235, and asecond input device (i.e., an input device including a key top that iscapable of moving in response to the second operation surface beingdepressed) of the same type as the first input device.

In the exemplary embodiment, “transmit to outside” is to transmit to themain body apparatus 2, but it may be to transmit to any apparatus (see“[3. Variations]” to be described later).

As shown in FIG. 27, the vibrating section 271 is provided between thecenter C of the housing 211 and the lower end B. The vibrating section271 is arranged below the center C of the housing 211. In the exemplaryembodiment, the vibrating section 271 is heavier than components(specifically, the key top 235, the key rubber 236, the sub-substrate237, the sub-substrate holding portion 238, the rechargeable battery 244and the joystick 212) arranged above the center C of the housing 211.The vibrating section 271 may be heavier than the sum of the weights ofthe components.

According to the description above, in the exemplary embodiment, thecenter of gravity position of the spherical controller 200(specifically, the controller main body 201) is located between thecenter C of the housing 211 and the lower end B of the surface of thehousing 211. Note that in the exemplary embodiment, it can be said thatthe lower end B of the housing 211 is the floor contact portion of thesurface of the housing 211. Note that the “center of gravity positionbeing located between the center C and the lower end B” means that theposition of the center of gravity with respect to the direction (i.e.,the up-down direction) of the straight line that connects between thecenter C and the lower end B lies between the position of the center Cwith respect to this direction and the position of the lower end B withrespect to this direction. That is, the center of gravity position doesnot need to be located on a line segment that connects between thecenter C and the lower end B. Therefore, in other embodiments, the lowerend B of the housing 211 does not always need to be the floor contactportion, but a position shifted from the lower end B may be the floorcontact portion.

According to the description above, when the spherical controller mainbody 201 is placed on a horizontal surface with no external forceapplied thereto, the controller main body 201 sits in an attitude suchthat the lower end B is in contact with the horizontal surface. In otherwords, when placed on a horizontal surface with no external forceapplied thereto, the controller main body 201 sits in an attitude suchthat the down input direction (i.e., the opposite direction to the “upinput direction” described above) substantially coincides with thedirection of gravity. When the user places the controller main body 201on a horizontal surface in an attitude such that a position of thehousing 211 that is different from the lower end B is in contact withthe horizontal surface, the controller main body 201 automatically (inother words, naturally) turns into an attitude such that the floorcontact portion (i.e., the lower end B) is in contact with thehorizontal surface.

Since the controller main body 201 is spherical, it may become difficultfor the user to recognize the up-down orientation based only on theouter shape of the controller main body 201. In contrast, according tothe exemplary embodiment, the user can check the up-down orientation byplacing the controller main body 201 on a horizontal surface, and theup-down orientation of the spherical controller 200 can be madeeasy-to-understand for the user.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to adjust thecenter of gravity position of the spherical controller 200 by using thevibrating section 271, which is heavier than the components.Specifically, by providing the vibrating section 271 between the centerof the housing 211 and the floor contact portion, the center of gravityposition can be arranged below the center. Thus, in the exemplaryembodiment, the center of gravity position of the spherical controller200 can be set without using a weight, and it is therefore possible tosimplify the configuration of the spherical controller 200.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, it can be said that the center ofgravity position of the controller main body 201 is located on the sideof the vibrating section 271 with respect to the center C of the housing211. That is, the center of gravity position of the controller main body201 is located on the side of the vibrating section 271 relative to aplane (i.e., the xz plane) that includes the center C and isperpendicular to the straight line (i.e., a straight line extending inthe up-down direction) passing through the center C of the housing 211and the center of the vibrating section 271. In other embodiments, thecenter of gravity position of the controller main body 201 does not needto be on a line segment that connects together the center C of thehousing 211 and the lower end B, and may be at any position that is onthe side of the vibrating section 271 relative to the plane. Also inthis case, as in the exemplary embodiment, the user can check theup-down orientation by placing the controller main body 201 on ahorizontal surface.

In the exemplary embodiment, the floor contact portion is at a positionon the housing 211 different from the position where the joystick 212 isprovided, and is a position that is on the opposite side from theoperation surface 213 with respect to the center of the housing 211.Herein, the “position on the opposite side from the operation surface213 with respect to the center of the housing 211” means a position thatis opposite from the operation surface 213 with respect to a plane(i.e., the xz plane) that includes the center of the housing 211 and isperpendicular to a straight line passing through the center of theoperation surface 213 and the center of the housing 211. Note that itcan also be said that the vibrating section 271 is provided on anextension of the straight line that extends from the operation surface213 to the center of the housing 211.

According to the description above, when the controller main body 201 isplaced on a horizontal surface with no external force applied thereto,the controller main body 201 sits in an attitude such that the operationsurface 213 faces up. Then, it is easy for the user to recognize theposition of the operation surface 213 when the controller main body 201is placed on a horizontal surface. According to the description above,the possibility that the operation surface 213 comes into contact withthe horizontal surface is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reducethe possibility that the operation surface 213 inadvertently hits thehorizontal surface, resulting in the operation surface 213 beingoperated without the user intending to do so. When the controller mainbody 201 is placed on a horizontal surface with no external forceapplied thereto, the controller main body 201 sits in an attitude suchthat the operation surface 213 can be operated, thereby making it easyto operate the operation surface 213.

In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271 is provided at aposition on the inner wall of the housing 211 that opposes the reverseside of the floor contact portion (see FIG. 27). Then, the center ofgravity position of the controller main body 201 can be brought closerto the floor contact portion, and the controller main body 201 is morelikely to be stable while being in contact with the floor contactportion when the controller main body 201 is placed on a horizontalsurface with no external force applied thereto.

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes therechargeable battery 244 provided inside the housing 211, and thecharging terminal 249 that is provided at a position different from thefloor contact portion and is electrically connected to the rechargeablebattery 244. Then, when the controller main body 201 is placed on ahorizontal surface with no external force applied thereto, the chargingterminal 249 does not face down, making it easy for the user to find thecharging terminal 249 and connect a charger, etc., to the chargingterminal 249. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to makeit easy for the user to charge the spherical controller 200, and improvethe usability of the spherical controller 200.

In the exemplary embodiment, the charging terminal 249 is at a positionrecessed from the surface of the housing 211 (i.e., the recessed surface245 d). Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the chargingterminal 249 comes into contact with the floor on which the controllermain body 201 is placed. For example, even when the controller main body201 placed on the floor rolls over, the possibility that the chargingterminal 249 comes into contact with the floor is reduced.

In the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 includes the vibratingsection attachment portions 273 b on the reverse side of the housing211, and the vibrating section 271 is secured directly on the vibratingsection attachment portions 273 b (see FIG. 23). Thus, since thevibrating section 271 is secured directly on the housing 211(specifically, the lower housing part 223), the vibration from thevibrating section 271 can be efficiently transmitted to the housing 211.When the controller main body 201 is placed on a horizontal surface, thevibration from the vibrating section 271 can be easily transmitted alsoto the horizontal surface via the housing 211.

In the exemplary embodiment, there is an interval between the vibratingsection 271 and the sensor electronic substrate (i.e., the mainsubstrate 246) that carries thereon the acceleration sensor 247 (seeFIG. 27). That is, the vibrating section 271 is not in direct contactwith the substrate that carries thereon the acceleration sensor 247.Then, the acceleration sensor 247 is unlikely to be influenced by thevibration from the vibrating section 271. Thus, it is possible to reducethe possibility that the acceleration sensor 247 detects the vibrationand fails to accurately detect the acceleration of the controller mainbody 201.

In the exemplary embodiment, the vibrating section 271 is secureddirectly on the housing 211 (specifically, the lower housing part 223),and the main substrate holding portion 245 that holds the sensorelectronic substrate (i.e., the main substrate 246) that carries thereonthe acceleration sensor 247 is secured directly on the housing 211(specifically, the middle housing part 222 and the lower housing part223). Therefore, the vibrating section 271 is connected indirectly, butnot directly, to the substrate that carries thereon the accelerationsensor 247. Thus, the acceleration sensor 247 is unlikely to beinfluenced by the vibration from the vibrating section 271, and it ispossible to reduce the possibility that the acceleration sensor 247fails to accurately detect the acceleration of the controller main body201.

(Regarding Configuration on Rear Side of Housing)

FIG. 29 is a back view of an example of a controller main body with thecover portion 215 removed. As shown in FIG. 29, the recessed surface 245d described above is provided inside the cover portion 215. Note thatalthough not shown in FIG. 29, the cover portion 215 is attached to therecessed surface 245 d by inserting the rod-shaped portion 259 describedabove into the hole 245 f provided in the recessed surface 245 d. Notethat as shown in FIG. 29, a notch 222 a is provided at a positionadjacent to the cover portion 215 of the middle housing part 222. Thenotch 222 a is provided for the purpose of making it easy for the userto hook a finger or a fingernail of the user on the cover portion 215when removing the cover portion 215 from the position where it iscovering the recessed surface 245 d.

As shown in FIG. 29, the recessed surface 245 d is provided with thecharging terminal 249. That is, the charging terminal 249 is provided soas to be exposed through a hole of the recessed surface 245 d. Therecessed surface 245 d is also provided with holes 245 g used forscrewing together the upper-middle unit 290 (specifically, the mainsubstrate holding portion 245 having the recessed surface 245 d) and thelower unit 270 (specifically, the lower housing part 223).

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes the recessed surface 245 d provided at aposition recessed from a first surface of a housing part which forms apart of a spherical shape (specifically, the surface of the lowerhousing part 223). The recessed surface 245 d is formed with the holes245 g for receiving therethrough screws for securing together the lowerhousing part 223 having the first surface and the recessed surface 245 d(see FIG. 29). The spherical controller 200 also includes the coverportion 215 that covers the recessed surface 245 d and has a secondsurface which forms a part of a spherical shape.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, screw holes forconnecting together the upper-middle unit 290 and the lower unit 270 arecovered by the cover portion 215. Then, the controller main body 201 canbe configured with no screw holes on the surface thereof. Therefore,according to the exemplary embodiment, the shape of the controller mainbody 201 as seen from outside can be made closer to a sphere.

As shown in FIG. 29, the strap hole 211 c to which a strap can beattached is at the rear end of the housing 211. That is, the strap hole211 c is at a position on a straight line that is extended from thecenter of the housing 211 in the opposite direction from the directionfrom the center of the housing 211 toward the center of the operationsurface 252 c of the joystick 212. Then, a strap can be attached at aposition that is unlikely to interfere with operations on the joystick212. Thus, it is possible to improve the operability of the sphericalcontroller 200.

In the exemplary embodiment, the operation surface of the reboot button214 shown in FIG. 29 is recessed from the surface of the housing 211.Then, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the reboot button214 is operated inadvertently. Note that in other embodiments, theoperation surface of the reboot button 214 may be provided along thesurface of the housing 211 or may be provided so as to protrude relativeto the surface of the housing 211.

[2-3. Configuration Related to Light Emission]

Next, the configuration of the controller main body 201 related to lightemission will be described. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example ofhow the controller main body emits light. As shown in FIG. 30, in theexemplary embodiment, the joystick 212 (specifically, the shaft portion252) is provided so as to be exposed through the opening 211 a of thehousing 211, and the diffusion sheet 255 provided surrounding thejoystick 212 (and the surrounding portion 256 and the reflective portion253 on the rear side thereof) is provided so that it is visuallyrecognizable from outside the housing 211. When light is emitted fromthe light-emitting section 248 inside the housing 211, light havingpassed through the inside of the lightguide 254 described above isoutput from the light-exiting surface of the lightguide 254. Thus, asshown in FIG. 30, the surrounding portion around the joystick 212appears lit. Note that in FIG. 30, the light emission from thesurrounding portion around the joystick 212 is represented by hatching.The light emission of the controller main body 201 will now be describedin detail focusing on the configuration of the lightguide 254.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing an example of the lightguide. FIG.32 shows six orthogonal views showing an example of the lightguide.Herein, in the present specification, the lightguide 254 will bedescribed as a plurality of parts for the purpose of discussion, andcross sections that are boundaries between these parts are drawn indotted lines in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, the lightguide 254 is an integral member and is not dividedinto these parts. Note however that in other embodiments, the lightguide254 may be composed of these separate parts.

As described above, the lightguide 254 includes the surrounding portion256, the left extended portion 257 a and the right extended portion 257b. As shown in FIG. 31, the surrounding portion 256 has a quadrilateralplate shape. The left extended portion 257 a is provided so as to extendfrom the left side surface of the surrounding portion 256, and the rightextended portion 257 b is provided so as to extend from the right sidesurface of the surrounding portion 256. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, the third cross section S3 is the cross section to be theboundary between the surrounding portion 256 and the left extendedportion 257 a.

In the exemplary embodiment, a flat plate-shaped portion of thelightguide 254 that is provided perpendicular to the front-reardirection is defined as the surrounding portion 256, and a portionthereof that extends curved rearward from the flat plate-shaped portionis defined as the extended portion 257 (see FIG. 31). Note however thatin other embodiments, the surrounding portion 256 does not need to becomposed only of the flat plate-shaped portion, and it does not need tobe flat plate-shaped as a whole.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the lightguide 254 is formed inleft-right symmetry. Therefore, the configuration of the right extendedportion 257 b is equal to the left extended portion 257 a except that itis left-right inverted. Therefore, the left extended portion 257 a willbe described below in detail, and the right extended portion 257 b willnot be described in detail.

[2-3-1. Extended Portion]

As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the left extended portion 257 a has anarm-like shape. Note that the “extended portion having an arm-likeshape” means that the extended portion is narrower than the surroundingportion 256 at least in a predetermined direction. Specifically, in theexemplary embodiment, the left extended portion 257 a extends whilebecoming narrower in the up-down direction than the surrounding portion256. The width of the extended portion 257 in the up-down directiongradually decreases over a portion thereof as the extended portion 257extends from the surrounding portion 256 (in other words, away from thesurrounding portion 256). Therefore, it can also be said that theextended portion 257 is an arm portion provided on the surroundingportion 256. In the exemplary embodiment, since the left extendedportion 257 a has an arm-like shape, the left extended portion 257 a isunlikely to interfere with other components to be arranged inside thehousing 211. Note that in other embodiments, the left extended portion257 a does not need to become narrower as it extends away from thesurrounding portion 256. For example, the left extended portion 257 amay have a constant cross-sectional area in a direction perpendicular tothe direction in which it extends from the surrounding portion 256.

As shown in FIG. 31 and (d) of FIG. 32, the left extended portion 257 aextends from the surrounding portion 256 and is then curved toward theinner side of the housing 211. Thus, a light-receiving surface 306 canbe arranged on the inner side of the housing 211 relative to thesurrounding portion 256. Note that while the entirety of the leftextended portion 257 a is curved toward the inner side of the housing211 in the exemplary embodiment, only a portion of the left extendedportion 257 a may be curved toward the inner side of the housing 211 inother embodiments. That is, the left extended portion 257 a includes aportion that extends from the surrounding portion 256 and is curvedtoward the inner side of the housing 211.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the left extended portion 257 aincludes a portion that extends from the surrounding portion 256 and iscurved toward the inner side of the housing 211, and has an arm-likeshape. Note however that in other embodiments, the left extended portion257 a may have an arm-like shape that does not include the curvedportion, or may be a shape that is not an arm-like shape and includesthe curved portion. There is no limitation on the shape of the leftextended portion 257 a, and it may not be an arm-like shape and notinclude the curved portion in other embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 22, the left extended portion 257 a is provided so asto extend toward the left light-emitting section 248 a. Specifically, inthe exemplary embodiment, the tip portion of the left extended portion257 a extends to the vicinity of the left light-emitting section 248 a(more specifically, the vicinity above the left light-emitting section248 a). Therefore, the light-receiving surface 306 provided at the tipportion is arranged in the vicinity of the left light-emitting section248 a. Thus, it is easy to arrange the light-receiving surface 306 atsuch a position that light from the left light-emitting section 248 acan be received efficiently.

As shown in FIG. 31, the left extended portion 257 a includes a firstlightguide portion 301, a second lightguide 302 and a third lightguide303. The first lightguide portion 301 is a portion of the left extendedportion 257 a from the light-receiving surface 306 shown in FIG. 32 tothe first cross section 51. The second lightguide portion 302 is aportion of the left extended portion 257 a from the first cross sectionS1 to the second cross section S2. The third lightguide portion 303 is aportion of the left extended portion 257 a from the second cross sectionS2 to the third cross section S3.

The first cross section S1 is a cross section that is substantiallyperpendicular to the light-receiving surface 306 and that includes aposition (the position p shown in FIG. 31) at which the normal directionto the outer surface on the upper side of the left extended portion 257a is the upward direction. Note that in the exemplary embodiment, thelight-receiving surface 306 is provided substantially parallel to theup-down direction. The second cross section S2 is a cross section in theleft extended portion 257 a that is between the first cross section S1and the third cross section S3 and that is substantially perpendicularto the light-receiving surface 306.

The first lightguide portion 301 includes the light-receiving surface306 facing down (see FIG. 32). Note that in the present specification,the orientation of a surface refers to the normal direction to thesurface. In the exemplary embodiment, the light-receiving surface 306 isprovided at a position opposing the left light-emitting section 248 aprovided on the main substrate 246 (see FIG. 22). Specifically, thelight-receiving surface 306 is provided above the left light-emittingsection 248 a with an interval from the left light-emitting section 248a.

In the exemplary embodiment, the left extended portion 257 a includes aprotruding portion 304. As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the protrudingportion 304 protrudes relative to the light-receiving surface 306 fromthe side (herein, the right side) of the light-receiving surface 306.Herein, the amount by which the protruding portion 304 protrudes isgreater than the amount by which the left light-emitting section 248 aprotrudes. That is, the length by which the protruding portion 304protrudes from the light-receiving surface 306 is longer than the lengthby which the left light-emitting section 248 a protrudes from the mainsubstrate 246. Note that the protruding portion 304 may or may not be incontact with the main substrate 246.

Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, if the lightguide 254 movesinside the housing 211 so that the light-receiving surface 306 movestoward the left light-emitting section 248 a, the protruding portion 304comes into contact with the main substrate 246, preventing thelight-receiving surface 306 from coming into contact with the leftlight-emitting section 248 a. That is, in the exemplary embodiment, ifthe light-receiving surface 306 is moved in the direction toward theleft light-emitting section 248 a, the protruding portion 304 serves asa contact portion that comes into contact with the main substrate 246before the light-receiving surface 306 comes into contact with the leftlight-emitting section 248 a. Thus, even when the lightguide 254 isshifted inside the housing 211 for some reason, it is possible to reducethe possibility that the lightguide 254 damages the light-emittingsection 248 by coming into contact with the light-emitting section 248.

As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the first lightguide portion 301 has acurved rod-like shape. Specifically, the first lightguide portion 301extends from the light-receiving surface 306 upward while being bentforward. In other words, the first lightguide portion 301 has a shapethat is curved toward the forward direction while extending upward fromthe light-receiving surface 306. Therefore, an inner wall surface 307 ofthe upper side surface of the side surfaces of the first lightguideportion 301 (i.e., the surfaces that connect together thelight-receiving surface 306 and the first cross section S1) facesforward and downward (see FIG. 33 to be discussed later). Note that thecross-sectional area of the first lightguide portion 301 (specifically,the cross-sectional area along a cross section of the first lightguideportion 301 that is parallel to the normal direction to the sidesurface; in other words, the cross-sectional area along a cross sectionthat is perpendicular to the direction extending from thelight-receiving surface 306 to the first cross section S1) issubstantially constant. This cross section has substantially the samequadrilateral shape as the light-receiving surface 306.

As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the second lightguide portion 302 has acurved rod-like shape. Specifically, the second lightguide portion 302extends from the first cross section 51 forward while being bentslightly downward. In other words, the second lightguide portion 302 hasa shape that is curved downward while extending forward from the firstcross section 51. Therefore, an inner wall surface 308 of the upper sidesurface of the side surfaces of the second lightguide portion 302 (i.e.,the surfaces that connect together the first cross section S1 and thesecond cross section S2) faces downward and rearward (see FIG. 33 to bediscussed later). Note that the cross-sectional area of the secondlightguide portion 302 (specifically, the cross-sectional area along across section of the second lightguide portion 302 that is parallel tothe normal direction to the side surface; in other words, thecross-sectional area along a cross section that is perpendicular to thedirection extending from the first cross section 51 to the second crosssection S2) is substantially constant. This cross section hassubstantially the same quadrilateral shape as the light-receivingsurface 306.

As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the third lightguide portion 303 hassuch a shape that the width thereof in the up-down direction graduallyincreases in the forward direction. It can be said that the thirdlightguide portion 303 has a plate shape that is wider on the frontside. The third lightguide portion 303 is curved to the right in theforward direction.

The hole 257 c is in the third lightguide portion 303. The hole 257 c isa hole passing through the plate-shaped third lightguide portion 303 inthe left-right direction (it can also be said to be the front-reardirection). As shown in FIG. 31, in the exemplary embodiment, the shapeof the hole 257 c is pointed on the rear side.

FIG. 33 is a diagram schematically showing an example of how lightpasses through the left extended portion. Note that in the presentspecification, “to schematically show” means to show the size and shapeof an component or components of interest and the positionalrelationship between components in a different manner from other figuresfor the purpose of making the component or components of interest (e.g.,the left extended portion in FIG. 33) more conspicuous. Note that whilethe left extended portion 257 a is curved to the right whose extendingforward from the light-receiving surface 306 in the exemplaryembodiment, the description of FIG. 33 neglects the bending of lightwith respect to the left-right direction (in other words, assuming thatthe left extended portion 257 a is not curved in the left-rightdirection) for the purpose of discussing how light travels in theup-down direction and the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 33, light emitted from the left light-emitting section248 a enters the inside of the first lightguide portion 301 of the leftextended portion 257 a via the light-receiving surface 306 (see thearrow shown in FIG. 33). Note that while directions of travel of lightare denoted by dotted arrows in FIG. 33, the direction of travel oflight through the left extended portion 257 a is not uniform, and thereare light components that travel in directions different from thosedenoted by the dotted arrows shown in FIG. 33.

Light having been received via the light-receiving surface 306 travelsgenerally upward through the first lightguide portion 301. Herein, onthe inner wall surface 307 on the upper side of the first lightguideportion 301, the normal direction (see the arrow shown in FIG. 33) facesforward and downward (more specifically, the normal direction faces moredownward at higher positions). Therefore, when light is reflected at theinner wall surface 307, the direction of travel changes toward the frontside (in other words, the direction becomes closer to the forwarddirection) (see the dotted arrows shown in FIG. 33). Note that since thefirst lightguide portion 301 is curved by 90° (in other words, thelight-receiving surface 306 and the first cross section S1 aresubstantially perpendicular to each other), most of the light havingbeen received via the light-receiving surface 306 of the firstlightguide portion 301 is reflected at a position on the inner wallsurface 307 to change its direction of travel. As described above, lighthaving been received via the light-receiving surface 306 travels throughthe first lightguide portion 301 while changing its direction of travelgenerally from the upward direction to the forward direction. Then,light in the first lightguide portion 301 enters the second lightguideportion 302 through the first cross section S1.

In the second lightguide portion 302, light having entered through thefirst cross section S1 travels generally in the forward direction.Herein, on the inner wall surface 308 on the upper side of the secondlightguide portion 302, the normal direction faces downward and rearward(see the arrow shown in FIG. 33). Therefore, when light is reflected atthe inner wall surface 308, the direction of travel changes toward thelower side (in other words, the direction becomes closer to the downwarddirection) (see the dotted arrows shown in FIG. 33). Thus, in the secondlightguide portion 302, light having entered through the first crosssection S1 travels generally in the forward direction, and a portion ofthe light is reflected at the inner wall surface 308 to change itsdirection of travel downward and travel through the second lightguideportion 302. Then, light in the second lightguide portion 302 enters thethird lightguide portion 303 through the second cross section S2.

In the third lightguide portion 303, since the width in the up-downdirection is increased, light is output from the third cross section S3that is longer in the up-down direction than the second cross sectionS2. Herein, the hole 257 c is provided in the third lightguide portion303. Therefore, light reflected at the inner wall surface that is thecircumference of the hole 257 c changes its direction of travel towardthe upper side or the lower side of the hole 257 c (see the dottedarrows shown in FIG. 33). Light traveling through the third lightguideportion 303 is divided into portions that pass through the upper side ofthe hole 257 c and portions that pass through the lower side of the hole257 c, entering the surrounding portion 256 through the third crosssection S3. Note that while FIG. 33 shows dotted arrows that areoriented perpendicular to the third cross section S3, the direction oftravel of light passing through the third cross section S3 is notlimited to the direction of these arrows.

Herein, when light travels through a curved lightguide, as with the leftextended portion 257 a, the amount of light traveling through the outerportion of the curved lightguide is larger than the amount of lighttraveling through the inner portion thereof. Therefore, if the secondlightguide portion 302 is configured so that the inner wall surface 308on the upper side does not face rearward (i.e., so that it facesdirectly downward or forward), the amount of light traveling through theupper portion of the third lightguide portion 303 will be large and theamount of light traveling through the lower portion thereof will besmall. As a result, a large amount of light will enter the surroundingportion 256 from the upper portion of the third cross section S3 whileonly a small amount of light will enter the surrounding portion 256 fromthe lower portion of the third cross section S3. Then, at thelight-exiting surface of the surrounding portion 256, the amount oflight emission from the upper portion and that from the lower portionwill differ. As a result, only the upper portion of the light-exitingsurface will possibly be lit strongly, thereby failing to uniformlylight the light-exiting surface.

In contrast, in the exemplary embodiment, the inner wall surface 308 onthe upper side of the second lightguide portion 302 is configured toface downward and rearward. Then, it is possible to increase the amountof light traveling through the lower portion of the third lightguideportion 303, thereby increasing the amount of light to be output fromthe lower portion of the light-exiting surface of the surroundingportion 256.

Note that when the inner wall surface 308 on the upper side of thesecond lightguide portion 302 faces downward and rearward, the amount oflight traveling through the lower portion of the third lightguideportion 303 may increase, thereby relatively reducing the amount oflight traveling through the upper portion. In view of this, in theexemplary embodiment, the hole 257 c is provided in the third lightguideportion 303. Thus, light reflected at the inner wall surface on theupper side of the hole 257 c in the third lightguide portion 303 changesits direction of travel toward the upper side, and it is thereforepossible to ensure sufficient light traveling through the upper portionof the third lightguide portion 303. Therefore, in the exemplaryembodiment, light can be made to uniformly enter the surrounding portion256 through the upper portion and from the lower portion of the thirdcross section S3, making it possible to uniformly light thelight-exiting surface.

[2-3-2. Surrounding Portion]

As shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, the surrounding portion 256 is formedwith a hole 256 a running through the surrounding portion 256 in thefront-rear direction. In the exemplary embodiment, a region of thesurface (i.e., the front side surface) of the surrounding portion 256that is surrounding the hole 256 a is visually recognizable from outsidethe controller main body 201, and this region serves as thelight-exiting surface.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the reverse surface of thesurrounding portion 256. As shown in FIG. 34, cutouts (specifically,slits 309) are on the reverse surface (i.e., the surface on the rearside) of the surrounding portion 256. In the exemplary embodiment, theslits 309 are in the annular region within a predetermined distance fromthe hole 256 a. Specifically, the slits 309 are linear grooves extendingin the up-down direction. The slits 309 are provided for the purpose ofincreasing the amount of light to be output from the light-exitingsurface, the details of which will be described later.

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example ofthe cross section of the surrounding portion. Note that FIG. 35 is across-sectional view showing a portion of a cross section perpendicularto the up-down direction. As shown in FIG. 35, light having entered thesurrounding portion 256 through the third cross section S3 is outputfrom a light-exiting surface 256 b. Specifically, a portion of lighthaving entered the surrounding portion 256 through the third crosssection S3 that travels forward is output, as it is (i.e., without beingreflected), through the light-exiting surface 256 b (see the dottedarrow A shown in FIG. 35). On the other hand, a portion of light havingentered the surrounding portion 256 through the third cross section S3that travels rearward is reflected at a reverse surface 256 c. Herein,in the exemplary embodiment, the slits 309 (slits 309 a and 309 b inFIG. 34 and FIG. 35) are on the reverse surface 256 c. Therefore, aportion of light having entered the surrounding portion 256 through thethird cross section S3 that travels rearward is reflected by the slits309 so that it is likely to be reflected forward (see dotted arrows Band C shown in FIG. 35). Therefore, with the provision of the slits 309,it is possible to increase the amount of light to be output from thelight-exiting surface 256 b.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, with the surroundingportion 256, light having been received via the light-receiving surfaceand guided through the extended portion 257 is reflected by the reversesurface 256 c of the light-exiting surface 256 b toward thelight-exiting surface 256 b. That is, it can be said that on the reverseside of the light-exiting surface 256 b of the surrounding portion 256,the surrounding portion 256 has a reflection surface for reflectinglight that has been received via the light-receiving surface and guidedthrough the extended portion 257 toward the light-exiting surface 256 b.Owing to this reflection surface, it is possible with the sphericalcontroller 200 to increase the amount of light to be output from thelight-exiting surface. Note that in other embodiments, there is no needto provide cutouts on the reflection surface. Even when cutouts are notprovided, the reflection surface has the function of reflecting lighttoward the light-exiting surface 256 b.

In the exemplary embodiment, one or more cutouts (specifically, theslits 309) are provided on the reflection surface. Thus, it is possibleto increase the amount of light to be reflected by the reflectionsurface and output from the light-exiting surface 256 b. Note that whilethe linear slits 309 are provided as the cutouts in the exemplaryembodiment, there is no limitation on the shape and the number ofcutouts. For example, in other embodiments, the cutout may be adot-shaped cutout (specifically, as hemispherical cutout having asemicircular cross section), and there may be a plurality of dot-shapedcutouts on the reflection surface.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, since the extended portions 257 aand 257 b are provided on opposite (left and right) sides of thesurrounding portion 256, light enters the surrounding portion 256 fromopposite (left and right) sides and is output from the light-exitingsurface 256 b.

Herein, the slits 309 are provided to extend in a direction that crossesthe direction of travel (herein, the left-right direction) of lighthaving been received via the light-receiving surface and guided throughthe extended portion 257 to the surrounding portion 256. Specifically,the extended portion 257 extends from a predetermined portion (i.e., theleft and right end portions) on the outer side surface of thesurrounding portion 256, and the slits 309 are provided to extend in adirection that has a component of the direction (i.e., the up-downdirection) that is perpendicular to the direction from the center of thesurrounding portion 256 toward the predetermined portion. Then, lightfrom the extended portion 257 can be efficiently reflected by the slits309, and it is therefore possible to increase the amount of light to beoutput from the light-exiting surface 256 b.

Note that while the slits 309 are provided to extend substantiallyparallel to the direction (specifically, the up-down direction) parallelto the side surface of the surrounding portion 256 in the exemplaryembodiment, the slits 309 in other embodiments may be provided to extendin any direction crossing a straight line (i.e., a straight lineextending in the left-right direction) that is perpendicular to the sidesurface of the surrounding portion 256. In other words, the slits 309may be provided to extend in any direction that has a component of theup-down direction. For example, the slits 309 may be provided to extendin a diagonally upward direction. Then, as in the exemplary embodiment,it is possible to increase the amount of light to be output from thelight-exiting surface 256 b.

In the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35, theinterval between the slits 309 a provided in the outer region of thelight-exiting surface is wider than the interval between the slits 309 bprovided in the inner region thereof. Note that the outer region is aregion of the light-exiting surface that is near the extended portion(more accurately, the closer one of the extended portions 257 a and 257b provided on the left and right of the surrounding portion 256), andspecifically is a region within a predetermined distance from theextended portion. In the exemplary embodiment, since the extendedportions are provided on opposite (left and right) sides of thesurrounding portion 256, regions of the surface of the surroundingportion 256 near the left and right edges are the outer regions. Theinner region is a region of the light-exiting surface that is sandwichedbetween the two (left and right) outer regions.

Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, in the inner region away fromthe extended portions 257 a and 257 b on the left and right of thesurrounding portion 256, the density of the slits 309 is higher thanthat in the outer region near one of the extended portions 257 a and 257b. Herein, since light beams from the extended portions less easilyreach the inner region as compared with the outer region, if the innerregion and the outer region have the same density of the slits 309, morelight will be output from the outer region than from the inner region.As a result, the amount of light output will differ between the outerregion and the inner region, and it will be difficult to uniformly lightthe light-exiting surface. In contrast, in the exemplary embodiment, thedensity of the slits 309 b in the inner region is higher than thedensity of the slits 309 a in the outer region, thereby increasing theamount of light to be reflected by the slits 309 b and output from thelight-exiting surface 256 b (see arrows C shown in FIG. 35), relative tothe amount of light to be reflected by the slits 309 a and output fromthe light-exiting surface 256 b (see arrows B shown in FIG. 35). Then,the amount of light to be output from the outer region and the amount oflight to be output from the inner region can be made close to eachother, thereby making it easier to uniformly light the light-exitingsurface.

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the reflection surfaceincludes a first region where the cutouts are with a first intervaltherebetween (specifically, a region where the slits 309 b are provided)and a second region where the cutouts are with a second intervaltherebetween that is smaller than the first interval (specifically, aregion where the slits 309 a are provided). Thus, the amount of light tobe output from the light-exiting surface can be adjusted for eachregion. Moreover, in the exemplary embodiment, the distance from thesecond region to the extended portion 257 is shorter than the distancefrom the first region to the extended portion 257. Thus, the sphericalcontroller 200 is more likely to be able to uniformly light thelight-exiting surface.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the density of cutouts in thesurrounding portion 256 is set in two levels for the first region andfor the second region. Herein, in other embodiments, the density ofcutouts in the surrounding portion 256 may be set in three or morelevels. In other embodiments, the slits may be provided so that thedensity changes gradually. Note that in embodiments where the density isset in three or more levels, the first region is one of three or moreregions having different densities, and the second region is another oneof the three or more regions. In embodiments where the density changesgradually, the first region is a position (in other words, region) wherethe density is at a certain level, and the second region is a positionwhere the density is at a lower level. That is, “the reflection surfaceincluding the first region and the second region” means to includeembodiments where the density is set in three or more levels, andembodiments where the density changes gradually.

Although not shown in FIG. 35, in the exemplary embodiment, a whitereflective portion 253 is provided on the reverse surface (in otherwords, the surface that faces toward the inner side of the housing 211)of the surrounding portion 256 (see FIG. 19). Therefore, with the whitereflective portion 253, it is possible to reduce the amount of lightthat passes from the reverse surface of the surrounding portion 256 tothe rear side of the surrounding portion 256 and the amount of lightthat is absorbed by the reflective portion 253. As a result, it ispossible to increase the amount of light to be output from thelight-exiting surface 256 b.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of an arrangement oflight-emitting elements in a light-emitting section. In the exemplaryembodiment, as shown in FIG. 36, the left light-emitting section 248 aincludes three light-emitting elements (e.g., LEDs) 311 to 313. Thelight-emitting elements 311 to 313 emit different colors of light.Specifically, the light-emitting element 311 emits red light, thelight-emitting element 312 emits green light, and the light-emittingelement 313 emits blue light. The light beams from the light-emittingelements 311 to 313 of the left light-emitting section 248 a each travelthrough the lightguide 254 via the light-receiving surface 306 to beoutput from the light-exiting surface 256 b. Then, since the colors oflight from the light-emitting elements 311 to 313 are mixed together andoutput from the light-exiting surface 256 b, color-mixed light is outputfrom the light-exiting surface 256 b. Thus, the spherical controller 200can emit various colors of light.

In the exemplary embodiment, the left light-emitting section 248 a isprovided so that the light-emitting elements 311 to 313 are arrangednext to each other in the longitudinal direction of the light-receivingsurface 306 (see FIG. 36). Herein, the longitudinal direction of thelight-receiving surface is one of the directions of the two sides of thequadrilateral-shaped light-receiving surface that is closer to theleft-right direction of the controller main body 201. Note that whilethe longitudinal direction of the light-receiving surface does notcoincide with the left-right direction of the controller main body 201in the exemplary embodiment, the longitudinal direction of thelight-receiving surface may coincide with the left-right direction ofthe controller main body 201 in other embodiments.

Herein, in the exemplary embodiment, the left extended portion 257 a ofthe lightguide 254 has a curved shape as seen from the longitudinaldirection of the light-receiving surface 306 (see FIG. 35). Therefore,if the light-emitting elements 311 to 313 are arranged next to eachother in the width direction of the light-receiving surface 306 (i.e.,the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of thelight-receiving surface 306), different colors of light from thelight-emitting elements 311 to 313 are likely to be received by thelight-receiving surface 306 from different positions with respect to thewidth direction of the light-receiving surface 306. Then, the differentcolors of light will be likely to travel through different paths withrespect to the up-down direction in the second lightguide portion 302and the third lightguide portion 303, and will not be sufficiently mixedtogether through the left extended portion 257 a. As a result, differentcolors of light may be output from the upper portion and from the lowerportion of the third cross section S3, and light beams output from theupper portion and the lower portion of the light-exiting surface 256 bof the surrounding portion 256 may appear in different colors.

In contrast, in the exemplary embodiment, the light-emitting elements311 to 313 are arranged next to each other in the longitudinal directionof the light-receiving surface 306. That is, the light-emitting elements311 to 313 are arranged at substantially the same position with respectto the width direction of the light-receiving surface 306, and differentcolors of light from the light-emitting elements 311 to 313 are likelyto travel through the same path with respect to the up-down direction inthe second lightguide portion 302 and the third lightguide portion 303.As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that light beamsoutput from the upper portion and the lower portion of the light-exitingsurface 256 b of the surrounding portion 256 appear in different colors.

Note that while the arrangement of the light-emitting elements 311 to313 of the left light-emitting section 248 a has been described abovewith reference to FIG. 36, the arrangement of light-emitting elements ofthe right light-emitting section 248 b is similar to the leftlight-emitting section 248 a. That is, the right light-emitting section248 b includes three light-emitting elements that emit red light, greenlight and blue light, and the three light-emitting elements are arrangednext to each other in the longitudinal direction of the light-receivingsurface of the right extended portion 257 b. Therefore, it is possibleto reduce the possibility that light beams from the right light-emittingsection 248 b that are output from the upper portion and the lowerportion of the light-exiting surface 256 b appear in different colors.

[2-3-3. Configuration Related to Light Emission]

As described above, in the exemplary embodiment, the sphericalcontroller 200 includes the following components.

the housing 211 with the opening 211 a.

the operation section at least a portion of which is exposed through theopening 211 a (specifically, the joystick 212).

the light-emitting section 248 provided inside the housing 211 foremitting light.

the lightguide 254 including a light-receiving surface (e.g., thelight-receiving surface 306) for receiving light generated from thelight-emitting section 248, and a light-exiting surface (i.e., thelight-exiting surface 256 b) for outputting light having been receivedvia the light-receiving surface to the outside of the housing 211.

Herein, the lightguide includes the surrounding portion 256 that has alight-exiting surface and is provided so as to surround thecircumference of the operation section, and the extended portion 257that is provided to extend from the surrounding portion 256 and has alight-receiving surface at the tip portion thereof (more specifically,an end portion that is opposite from the side where it is continuouswith the surrounding portion 256).

With the configuration above, as the lightguide 254 includes theextended portion 257, it is possible to arrange the light-receivingsurface at a position different from the light-exiting surface. Thus, itis possible to improve the degree of freedom regarding the arrangementof the light-emitting section 248. For example, it is possible toarrange the light-emitting section at a position away from the operationsection.

Note that “(the surrounding portion) provided so as to surround thecircumference of the operation section” means to include embodimentswhere the surrounding portion with a cutout is provided around theoperation section, as well as embodiments where the surrounding portioncompletely surrounds the entire circumference of the operation section.Moreover, “(the surrounding portion) provided so as to surround thecircumference of the operation section” does not mean to define theinterval between the surrounding portion and the operation section, butmeans to include both embodiments where the surrounding portion and theoperation section are in contact with each other and embodiments wherethe surrounding portion and the operation section are not in contactwith each other.

While the extended portion 257 includes a curved portion (e.g., thefirst lightguide portion 301 and the second lightguide portion 302) inthe exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 may include a bentportion. That is, the extended portion 257 may include at least one of acurved portion and a bent portion. Then, the light-receiving surface canbe arranged at a position different from the light-exiting surface, andit is possible to improve the degree of freedom regarding thearrangement of the light-emitting section.

In the exemplary embodiment, the light-receiving surface faces toward adirection (i.e., the downward direction) that is different from thedirection opposite to the direction toward which the light-exitingsurface faces (i.e., the forward direction) (see FIG. 32). In otherwords, the light-receiving surface faces toward a direction that is notparallel to the direction toward which the light-exiting surface faces.It can also be said that the light-receiving surface is oriented so thatthe plane extending along the light-receiving surface crosses the planeextending along the light-exiting surface. It can also be said that thelight-receiving surface is oriented so that the angle formed between thenormal direction to the light-receiving surface (i.e., the downwarddirection) and the normal direction to the light-exiting surface (i.e.,the forward direction) is other than 180 degrees. Specifically, in theexemplary embodiment, the light-exiting surface is providedsubstantially perpendicular to the light-receiving surface. That is, inthe exemplary embodiment, the light-exiting surface faces toward theforward direction whereas the light-receiving surface faces toward thedownward direction. Note that in other embodiments, the light-receivingsurface does not need to be provided substantially perpendicular to thelight-exiting surface. For example, in other embodiments, the normaldirection to the light-receiving surface may be in an orientation at45°, or in an orientation at 120°, with respect to the normal directionto the light-exiting surface.

According to the description above, it is possible to improve the degreeof freedom in the arrangement of the light-emitting section 248. Forexample, when light is emitted in the forward direction as in theexemplary embodiment, the light-emitting section 248 can be arranged soas to emit light in the upward direction.

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes anelectronic substrate (i.e., the main substrate 246) that carries thereonthe light-emitting section 248, and the electronic substrate is orientedinside the housing 211 in a different direction (i.e., the upwarddirection) from the direction of the light-exiting surface (see FIG.19). Specifically, in the exemplary embodiment, the electronic substrateis provided substantially perpendicular to the light-exiting surface.Thus, when the light-emitting section 248 is provided on the electronicsubstrate, it is possible, with the lightguide, to improve the degree offreedom in the arrangement of the electronic substrate. In the exemplaryembodiment, the electronic substrate may be oriented in the up-downdirection while the light-exiting surface is oriented in the forwarddirection.

In the exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 extends from theouter circumference (specifically, the left and right side surfaces) ofthe surrounding portion 256 in a direction toward the outer side of theouter circumference and toward the inner side of the housing 211 (seeFIG. 19 and FIG. 31). In other words, the extended portion 257 extendsfrom the outer circumference of the surrounding portion 256 toward theouter side of the outer circumference and toward the inner side of thehousing 211. Then, components different from the light-emitting section248 can be arranged on the reverse side of the surrounding portion 256(in other words, the reverse side of the light-exiting surface). In theexemplary embodiment, the base portion 251 of the joystick 212 isprovided on the reverse side of the surrounding portion 256. Thus,according to the exemplary embodiment, it is possible to further improvethe degree of freedom in the arrangement of components in the housing211.

In the exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 includes theportions (a) to (c) as follows.

(a) the first lightguide portion (e.g., the first lightguide portion301) extending from the light-receiving surface to the cross section ofthe extended portion (e.g., the first cross section S1) that isperpendicular to the orientation of the light-receiving surface.

(b) the second lightguide portion (e.g., the second lightguide portion302) that is continuous with the first lightguide portion.

(c) the third lightguide portion (e.g., the third lightguide portion303) whose first end is continuous with the second lightguide portionand whose second end is continuous with the surrounding portion, whereinthe width of the third lightguide portion in the direction (i.e., theup-down direction) parallel to the orientation of the light-receivingsurface gradually increases from the first end toward the second end.

On the wall surface (i.e., the wall surface on the upper side) that ison the opposite side from the orientation of the light-receivingsurface, the second lightguide portion has a wall surface (e.g., theinner wall surface 308 shown in FIG. 33) whose interior angle withrespect to the cross section is less than 90°.

With the configuration above, it is possible, with the wall surface ofthe second lightguide portion, to change the direction of travel oflight toward the same side as the orientation of the light-receivingsurface. Thus, light entering the surrounding portion from the thirdlightguide portion can be made more uniform with respect to thedirection parallel to the orientation of the light-receiving surface.

In the exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 has a hole (e.g.,the hole 257 c) that is capable of changing the path of light havingbeen received via the light-receiving surface. With this hole, it ispossible to adjust the path of light entering the surrounding portion256 from the extended portion 257. Moreover, in the exemplaryembodiment, the hole includes a lightguide portion (e.g., the thirdlightguide portion 303) of the extended portion 257 whose width in thedirection perpendicular to the light-receiving surface graduallyincreases toward the surrounding portion 256. Then, light travelingthrough the lightguide portion can be divided by the hole into a lightcomponent that passes through one side of the hole and another lightcomponent that passes through the other side of the hole. As a result,light entering the surrounding portion from the third lightguide portioncan be made more uniform.

Note that in the exemplary embodiment, the hole (e.g., the hole 257 c)in the lightguide portion has a shape of which an end portion furtheraway from the surrounding portion 256 is tapered toward the tip thereof(see FIG. 33). Then, it is possible to reduce the possibility that lightreflected at the wall surface of the hole travels toward thelight-receiving surface. As a result, it is possible to increase theamount of light to be output from the light-exiting surface.

In the exemplary embodiment, the housing 211 includes an engagementportion (e.g., the tab 243 b shown in FIG. 19) that engages with thehole (e.g., the hole 257 c) in the lightguide portion. Thus, with thehole, light entering the surrounding portion from the third lightguideportion can be made more uniform, and it is possible to reduce thepossibility that the position of the lightguide 254 is misaligned withthe housing 211.

In the exemplary embodiment, as the light-emitting section 248, thespherical controller 200 includes a first light-emitting section (i.e.,the left light-emitting section 248 a) and a second light-emittingsection (i.e., the right light-emitting section 248 b) provided at aposition different from the first light-emitting section. As theextended portion 257, the lightguide 254 includes a first extendedportion (i.e., the left extended portion 257 a) and a second extendedportion (i.e., the right extended portion 257 b). The first extendedportion is provided so as to extend from the surrounding portion 256,and a first light-receiving surface (i.e., the light-receiving surface306) is provided at a position opposing the first light-emittingsection. The second extended portion is provided so as to extend fromthe surrounding portion 256, and a second light-receiving surface isprovided at a position opposing the second light-emitting section (seeFIG. 22). Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, extended portions areprovided corresponding respectively to the two light-emitting sections,and light beams from the two extended portions can be output from onelight-exiting surface, thereby increasing the amount of light to beoutput from the light-exiting surface.

In the exemplary embodiment, the first extended portion is provided toextend from one side in a predetermined direction (specifically, theleft side) of the surrounding portion 256, and the second extendedportion is provided to extend from the other side in the predetermineddirection (specifically, the right side) of the surrounding portion 256.Then, it is possible to reduce the possibility that light output fromthe light-exiting surface becomes non-uniform.

In the exemplary embodiment, the first extended portion and the secondextended portion are provided with the operation section (i.e., thejoystick 212) sandwiched therebetween (see FIG. 19). That is, the firstextended portion and the second extended portion are provided so thatthe operation section is located between the first extended portion andthe second extended portion. Then, the extended portions and theoperation section can be efficiently arranged inside the housing 211.For example, in the exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 maybe located so as not to interfere with other components while avoidingthe joystick 212.

In the exemplary embodiment, the spherical controller 200 includes adiffusion portion (specifically, a diffusion sheet) provided on thelight-exiting surface so as to overlap at least a portion of thelight-exiting surface for diffusing light output from the light-exitingsurface. Thus, light output from the light-exiting surface can be mademore uniform. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, portions of theslits 309 provided on the reverse side of the light-exiting surface maypossibly appear brighter than other portions other than the slits 309,but it is possible, with the diffusion portion, to reduce such apossibility.

In the exemplary embodiment, the light-emitting section 248 includes afirst light-emitting element for generating light of a first color, anda second light-emitting element for generating light of a second colordifferent from the first color. The lightguide 254 outputs light throughthe light-exiting surface, wherein the light is obtained by mixingtogether the light of the first color and the light of the second colorthat have been received via light-receiving surfaces. Therefore, withthe spherical controller 200, it is possible to increase the variety ofcolors of light to be output from the light-exiting surface. Note thatwhile the light-emitting section 248 includes three light-emittingelements in the exemplary embodiment, the light-emitting section 248 mayinclude any number (two or more) of light-emitting elements or mayinclude only one light-emitting element in other embodiments.

In the exemplary embodiment, the extended portion 257 includes a portionthat is curved (or bent) as seen from a predetermined direction (i.e.,the longitudinal direction of the light-receiving surface). Then, thefirst light-emitting element and the second light-emitting element arearranged next to each other in the predetermined direction. Thus, it ispossible to reduce the possibility that the color of the light outputfrom the light-exiting surface appears to vary depending on the positionon the light-exiting surface.

[2-4. Configuration of Strap Portion]

Next, referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the strap portion 202 will bedescribed. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the strap portion 202 includesa strap chord 401. The strap chord 401 is a rope-like or belt-like chordmember formed in a loop. The strap chord 401 is used by the user whosewrist is passed through the strap portion 202 when holding thecontroller main body 201.

In the exemplary embodiment, the strap portion 202 is fixedly attachedto the controller main body 201. A strap attachment shaft (i.e., thestrap attachment shaft 245 c of FIG. 20) is provided inside thecontroller main body 201, the details of which will be described later.As shown in (f) of FIG. 10, the strap hole 211 c is provided on thesurface of the housing 211 of the controller main body 201. The strapchord 401 is provided so as to extend from the strap hole 211 c to theoutside of the housing 211 with the strap chord 401 passed around thestrap attachment shaft. Therefore, in the exemplary embodiment, thestrap portion 202 can be fixedly attached to the controller main body201. According to the exemplary embodiment, the strap portion 202 can beattached firmly to the controller main body 201.

Note that in other embodiments, the spherical controller 200 may beconfigured so that the strap portion can be attached to and detachedfrom the spherical controller 200. For example, in other embodiments,the strap chord may be attached to the strap attachment shaft so that itcan be detached therefrom.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the strap portion 202 includes anadjustment portion 403. The adjustment portion 403 is a member foradjusting the size of the loop of the strap chord 401. Specifically, twoholes are provided running through the adjustment portion 403, and thestrap chord 401 is passed through the holes. By pressing the portion ofthe strap chord 401 that is in the hole of the adjustment portion 403,the strap chord 401 is fixed relative to the adjustment portion 403.Thus, a portion of the strap chord 401 that is on the opposite side,with respect to the adjustment portion 403, from the side where thestrap chord 401 is attached to the controller main body 201 forms aloop. The user holds the controller main body 201 with the user's wristpassed through the loop when using the spherical controller 200.

Herein, in the exemplary embodiment, the adjustment portion 403 includesan adjustment button 403 a (see FIG. 9). Although there is no limitationon the specific mechanism of the adjustment portion 403, in theexemplary embodiment, the adjustment portion 403 presses a portion ofthe strap chord 401 that is in the hole while the adjustment button 403a is not being depressed, and the adjustment portion 403 does not pressthe strap chord 401 while the adjustment button 403 a is beingdepressed. Therefore, while the adjustment button 403 a is beingdepressed, the user can easily move the adjustment portion 403 relativeto the strap chord 401, and while the adjustment button 403 a is notbeing depressed, the adjustment portion 403 is fixed relative the strapchord 401 (in other words, it is less easily moved).

Thus, the user can adjust the size of the loop formed by the strap chord401. For example, the user adjusts the size of the loop of the strapchord 401 using the adjustment portion 403 so that the strap portion 202does not come off the wrist of the user's hand holding the controllermain body 201.

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the strap portion 202 includes a fingerhook portion 404. The finger hook portion 404 has a ring shape with acutout. The finger hook portion 404 is attached to the strap chord 401.Specifically, the finger hook portion 404 is provided between a portionof the strap chord 401 that is attached to the controller main body 201and a portion thereof that is attached to the adjustment portion 403.Note that the finger hook portion 404 is movable between these twoportions.

The user passes one finger (e.g., the middle finger or the ring finger)of the user's hand holding the controller main body 201 through thefinger hook portion 404. Then, even when the user inadvertently lets goof the controller main body 201, the finger hook portion 404 is on thefinger and it is possible to reduce the possibility that the controllermain body 201 comes off the hand.

[2-5. Electrical Configuration]

FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing electrical connections of thespherical controller 200. As shown in FIG. 37, the spherical controller200 includes a control section 321. The control section 321 is providedon the main substrate 246. The control section 321 includes a processorand a memory for storing data. In the exemplary embodiment, the controlsection 321 controls the communication process with the main bodyapparatus 2, and controls the power supply to the various electricalcomponents shown in FIG. 37. Note that the memory may store data used inthe control operations, or may store data used in an application (e.g.,a game application) using the spherical controller 200 to be executed onthe main body apparatus 2.

The control section 321 is electrically connected to the input meansincluded in the spherical controller 200. In the exemplary embodiment,as input means, the spherical controller 200 includes the joystick 212,the detection circuit 322, the acceleration sensor 247 and the buttondetection section 258. The detection circuit 322 is a detection circuitfor detecting the key rubber 236 coming into contact with the contact237 a when the operation surface 213 described above is operated. Thecontrol section 321 obtains, from each input means, information (inother words, data) regarding operations performed on the input means.

The control section 321 is electrically connected to the communicationsection 323. The communication section 323 includes the antenna 291, andwirelessly communicates with the main body apparatus 2. That is, thecontrol section 321 transmits information (in other words, data) to themain body apparatus 2 using the communication section 323 (in otherwords, via the communication section 323), and receives information (inother words, data) from the main body apparatus 2 using thecommunication section 323. For example, the control section 321transmits information obtained from the joystick 212, the detectioncircuit 322 and the acceleration sensor 247 to the main body apparatus 2via the communication section 323. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, the communication section 323 (and/or the control section321) functions as a transmission section for transmitting informationregarding the operation performed on the joystick 212 to the main bodyapparatus 2. The communication section 323 (and/or the control section321) also functions as a transmission section for transmittinginformation regarding the operation performed on the operation surface213 to the main body apparatus 2. The communication section 323 (and/orthe control section 321) functions as a transmission section fortransmitting information output from the acceleration sensor 247 to themain body apparatus 2. In the exemplary embodiment, the communicationsection 323 performs communication compliant with the Bluetooth(registered trademark) standard with the main body apparatus 2.

Note that in other embodiments, the communication section 323 mayperform wired communication with the main body apparatus 2, instead ofwireless communication. The communication section 323 may have bothfunctions of performing wireless communication and performing wiredcommunication with the main body apparatus 2.

The control section 321 is electrically connected to output meansincluded in the spherical controller 200. In the exemplary embodiment,as output means, the spherical controller 200 includes the vibratingsection 271 and the light-emitting section 248. The control section 321controls the operation of the output means. For example, the controlsection 321 may refer to the information obtained from the input meansand control the operation of the output means in accordance with theoperation performed on the input means. For example, the control section321 may vibrate the vibrating section 271 or light the light-emittingsection 248 in response to the operation surface 213 being depressed.For example, the control section 321 may control the operation of theoutput means based on information received from the main body apparatus2 via the communication section 323. That is, the control section 321may vibrate the vibrating section 271 or light the light-emittingsection 248 in response to a control command from the main bodyapparatus 2. The main body apparatus 2 may transmit, to the sphericalcontroller 200, a signal representing a waveform used for vibrating thevibrating section 271, and the control section 321 may vibrate thevibrating section 271 in accordance with the waveform. That is, theantenna 291 of the communication section 323 may receive a signal forvibrating the vibrating section 271 from outside (i.e., the main bodyapparatus 2), and the vibrating section 271 may vibrate based on thesignal received via the antenna 291. Note that in the exemplaryembodiment, since the vibrating section 271 is a voice coil motorcapable of outputting a sound, the control section 321 can also causethe vibrating section 271 to output a sound in accordance with thewaveform.

The control section 321 is electrically connected to the rechargeablebattery 244. The control section 321 controls the power supply from therechargeable battery 244 to the various input means, the various outputmeans and the communication section. Note that the rechargeable battery244 may be connected directly to the various input means, the variousoutput means and the communication section. In the exemplary embodiment,the control section 321 controls the power supply based on informationobtained from the button detection section 258 (i.e., informationrepresenting whether or not the reboot button 214 is being depressed).Specifically, when the reboot button 214 is depressed (in other words,while it is being depressed), the power supply from the rechargeablebattery 244 to the various input means, the various output means and thecommunication section is stopped. When the reboot button 214 is notdepressed (in other words, while it is not being depressed), the controlsection 321 supplies power from the rechargeable battery 244 to thevarious input means, the various output means and the communicationsection. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, the reboot button 214 is abutton for giving an instruction to reboot (in other words, reset) thespherical controller 200. It can also be said that the reboot button 214is a button for giving an instruction to turn ON/OFF the power supply ofthe spherical controller 200.

The rechargeable battery 244 is electrically connected to the chargingterminal 249 described above. The charging terminal 249 is a terminalfor connecting a charging device (not shown) (e.g., an AC adaptor,etc.). In the exemplary embodiment, the charging terminal 249 is a USBconnector (more specifically, a female connector). In the exemplaryembodiment, when a charging device, to which commercial power issupplied, is electrically connected to the charging terminal 249, poweris supplied to the rechargeable battery 244 via the charging terminal249, thereby charging the rechargeable battery 244.

[3. Variations]

(Variations Regarding Joystick) In the embodiment described above, thespherical controller 200 includes, as a direction input section, ajoystick having a shaft portion that can be tilted. Herein, in otherembodiments, the spherical controller 200 may include, as a directioninput section, any input device that is capable of making a directioninput. For example, in a variation of the embodiment described above,the direction input section may be an input device having a slideportion that is slidable (specifically, a slide stick). That is, thespherical controller 200 may include a direction input section having aslide portion that is slidable at least a portion of which is exposedthrough the opening 211 a. According to this variation, the user can usea game controller having a spherical outer shape and perform a directioninput operation by sliding a slide portion. Then, also in thisvariation, as in the embodiment described above, it is possible toimprove the usability of a game controller having a spherical outershape. In other embodiments, the direction input section may be across-shaped key. Note that in the exemplary embodiment, by using ajoystick having a shaft portion that can be tilted, it is possible toreduce the size of the opening 211 a of the housing 211. Thus, the shapeof the controller main body 201 as seen from outside can be made closerto a sphere.

(Variations Regarding Shape of Game Controller)

The embodiment above has been directed to an example of a gamecontroller having a spherical outer shape (i.e., the sphericalcontroller 200). Herein, in other embodiments, the game controller mayhave any outer shape. For example, the configuration in which thelightguide 254 described above is used to emit light to the outside ofthe game controller is applicable to a game controller of any shape.That is, even when the lightguide is used in any game controller whoseouter shape is not spherical, it is possible to improve the degree offreedom in the arrangement of the light-emitting section as in theembodiment described above.

(Variations Regarding Communication)

In the embodiment described above, the spherical controller 200 includesa transmission section (i.e., the communication section 323) fortransmitting information (e.g., information regarding operations on thejoystick and information regarding operations on the operation surface)to the outside. Herein, “transmit information to the outside” is notlimited to the transmission of information to the main body apparatus 2,but means to include embodiments where information is transmitted to anyother apparatus other than the spherical controller 200. That is, in avariation of the embodiment described above, the spherical controller200 may be capable of communicating with other types of informationprocessing apparatuses other than the main body apparatus 2. Forexample, the spherical controller 200 may be capable of wirelesslycommunicating with a smartphone and/or a tablet, or may be capable ofwirelessly communicating with other types of portable game apparatusesother than the main body apparatus 2. The spherical controller 200 maycommunicate with another game controller (e.g., the left controller 3 orthe right controller 4 described above). Then, information from thespherical controller 200 may be transmitted to an information processingapparatus (e.g., the main body apparatus 2) via the other gamecontroller. Note that in this variation, the communication between thespherical controller 200 and the other apparatus may be wirelesscommunication or may be wired communication.

(Variations Regarding Controller)

The embodiment described above has been directed to the sphericalcontroller 200 as an example of a game controller for use in videogames. Herein, the spherical controller 200 may be used for any otherapplications other than video games. For example, when an informationprocessing program (e.g., a browser) different from a game program isexecuted on the main body apparatus 2, the spherical controller 200 maybe a controller (in other words, the controller device) used forperforming operations related to the information processing program.

The embodiment described above is applicable for example to gamecontrollers, and the like, with the aim of desirably arrangingcomponents in a spherical controller, for example.

While certain example systems, methods, devices and apparatuses havebeen described herein, it is to be understood that the appended claimsare not to be limited to the systems, methods, devices and apparatusesdisclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game controller comprising: a spherical housingincluding a first hemispherical housing, a second hemispherical housing,and a spherical zone-shaped housing between the first hemisphericalhousing and the second hemispherical housing; a joystick positioned at aboundary between the first hemispherical housing and the secondhemispherical housing; an operation button having an operation surfaceat a zenith portion of the first hemispherical housing; and an antennainside the first hemispherical housing, the antenna configured totransmit, to outside, information regarding an operation on the joystickand information regarding an operation on the operation button.
 2. Thegame controller according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is on a sideof the joystick with respect to a center of the spherical housing. 3.The game controller according to claim 1, further comprising a firstelectronic substrate having the antenna and a contact, the contactconfigured to detect an operation on the operation surface.
 4. The gamecontroller according to claim 3, further comprising: a processorconfigured to cause the antenna to transmit, to outside, informationregarding an operation on the joystick and information regarding anoperation on the operation button; and a second electronic substratethat carries thereon the processor, wherein the second electronicsubstrate is different from the first electronic substrate.
 5. The gamecontroller according to claim 4, wherein the second electronic substrateis inside the second hemispherical housing.
 6. The game controlleraccording to claim 1, wherein the spherical zone-shaped housing isring-shaped.
 7. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein thejoystick is at least partially within the spherical zone-shaped housing.8. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein the sphericalzone-shaped housing includes an annular portion surrounding acircumference of the joystick.
 9. The game controller according to claim8, wherein the spherical zone-shaped housing includes a firstband-shaped portion extending from the annular portion toward a rightinput direction of the joystick, and a second band-shaped portionextending from the annular portion toward a left input direction of thejoystick.
 10. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein theoperation surface is integral with a surface of the spherical housing.11. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein a center ofgravity of the game controller is located inside the secondhemispherical housing.
 12. The game controller according to claim 1,further comprising: a vibrator inside the spherical housing andconfigured to generate a vibration to vibrate the spherical housing; andan inertia sensor at a position inside the spherical housing such that adistance from a center of the spherical housing to the inertia sensor isshorter than a distance from the center to the vibrator.
 13. The gamecontroller according to claim 12, wherein the antenna transmits, tooutside, output information from the inertia sensor.
 14. The gamecontroller according to claim 1, further comprising: a vibrator insidethe spherical housing and configured to generate a vibration to vibratethe spherical housing; and a rechargeable battery inside the sphericalhousing, wherein the rechargeable battery is at a position such that adistance from a center of the spherical housing to the rechargeablebattery is shorter than a distance from the center of spherical housingto the vibrator.
 15. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein:the operation button includes a movable portion configured to move inresponse to the operation surface being depressed; the movable portionis capable of pivoting about a rotation shaft; and the game controllerfurther includes a detector configured to detect an operation on theoperation surface in response to the pivoting of the movable portion.16. The game controller according to claim 15, wherein the rotationshaft is substantially perpendicular to a straight line that connectstogether a center of the spherical housing and a center of the operationsurface of the operation button.
 17. The game controller according toclaim 15, wherein the rotation shaft is positioned between the joystickand the center of the spherical housing.
 18. The game controlleraccording to claim 1, further comprising a vibrator inside the sphericalhousing and configured to generate a vibration to vibrate the sphericalhousing, wherein the antenna is capable of receiving, from outside, asignal for vibrating the vibrator; and the vibrator vibrates based onthe signal received by the antenna.
 19. The game controller according toclaim 1, further comprising a vibrator inside the spherical housing andconfigured to generate a vibration to vibrate the spherical housing,wherein the vibrator includes a voice coil motor capable of generating asound as well as vibrating in response to an input signal.
 20. The gamecontroller according to claim 1, wherein an indication that indicates aposition of the operation surface is on at least one of the sphericalhousing and the operation surface.
 21. The game controller according toclaim 1, further comprising: a rechargeable battery inside the sphericalhousing; and a terminal that is electrically connected to therechargeable battery and is at a position recessed from a surface of thespherical housing.
 22. The game controller according to claim 1, furthercomprising a vibrator inside the spherical housing and configured togenerate a vibration to vibrate the spherical housing, wherein thevibrator has a cylindrical outer shape.
 23. The game controlleraccording to claim 1, further comprising a reboot button used to rebootthe game controller, wherein an operation surface of the reboot buttonis recessed from a surface of the spherical housing.
 24. The gamecontroller according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is positioned in adirection of the joystick with respect to the center of the sphericalhousing.
 25. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein theantenna is positioned between the joystick and the center of thespherical housing.
 26. A game controller comprising: a spherical housingincluding a first hemispherical housing, a second hemispherical housing,and a spherical zone-shaped housing between the first hemisphericalhousing and the second hemispherical housing; a joystick having anoperation surface; an operation button having an operation surface,where at least a portion of the operation surface of the operationbutton is perpendicular to at least a portion of the operation surfaceof the joystick; and an antenna inside the first hemispherical housing,the antenna configured to transmit, to outside, information regarding anoperation on the joystick and information regarding an operation on theoperation button.
 27. The game controller of claim 26, wherein thejoystick is positioned at a boundary between the first hemisphericalhousing and the second hemispherical housing.
 28. The game controller ofclaim 26, wherein at least a portion of the operation surface of theoperation button is at a zenith portion of the first hemisphericalhousing.
 29. The game controller of claim 26, further comprising avibrator inside the spherical housing and configured to generate avibration to vibrate the spherical housing.
 30. The game controller ofclaim 29, wherein the vibrator is inside the second hemisphericalhousing.